Kentucky Books

"The Klan" tells the story of the author's trek across the South and details the conversations she had with many active in the Klan movement. The first half of the book concentrates on her experiences with some of the minor figures in the movement. Most of these (Grand Dragons- statewide Klan leaders) were small personalities with half-formed ideas about racial inferiority and a half-baked sense of some "Jewish Conspiracy". Many of the subjects are poor and poorly educated. As the book progresses, Sims begins to reap the benefits of making connections within this marginalized culture. She begins to meet with some of the men jockeying for the national leadership of the various Klans (men like Robert Shelton, David Duke, and James Venerable). These types come off as much more eloquent, soft-spoken and professional about their racist views. And they are portrayed in a balanced way, with a genuine interest into their characters as men and leaders. Along the way, Sims picks up anecdotes about the history and significant events associated with the movement.

Using primary sources Sims presents an interesting window into the way these people view our society. There is ample speculation about membership numbers circa 1976 (the year in which much of the book was originally written), but the secrecy of the organization makes it impossible to find the truth.
Although those presented are the most radical examples of this brand of thought, I would venture to guess that a lot of lower and middle class whites in America have engaged in some watered down form of this thinking. I found myself confronting some of the perceptions and stereotypes I carry around with me, both about blacks AND whites.

The story of the Klan(s) is one of infighting, backstabbing and incompetence. But it is also about the very real frustrations, fears, and passions these people bring to the race issue in their everyday lives. It must have been very difficult for the author to remain openminded and hear what they had to say. I think she was able to make a fairly valiant effort.

Patsy Sims book is by far one of the best books I've read on the Klan. This book would come second to "Soliders of God." She covers a wide range of famous (or will be in the history books later on) men who are actually still amoung us! She mainly lets these men speak from the book so that the reader can hear what they really think. She does let some of her personal comments out. I personally do not like that style of writting or news. Report facts not opinions or personal feelings. She fails to mention that Imperial Wizard James Venable gave his position to Ray Larsen in 1993. I.W. Ray Larsen has since taken the National Knights into 23 different Nations! For the above 2 mentioned facts I only gave her 4 stars. Worth Buying? Yes.

"The Klan" tells the story of the author's trek across the South and details the conversations she had with many active in the Klan movement. The first half of the book concentrates on her experiences with some of the minor figures in the movement. Most of these (Grand Dragons- statewide Klan leaders) were small personalities with half-formed ideas about racial inferiority and a half-baked sense of some "Jewish Conspiracy". Many of the subjects are poor and poorly educated. As the book progresses, Sims begins to reap the benefits of making connections within this marginalized culture. She begins to meet with some of the men jockeying for the national leadership of the various Klans (men like Robert Shelton, David Duke, and James Venerable). These types come off as much more eloquent, soft-spoken and professional about their racist views. And they are portrayed in a balanced way, with a genuine interest into their characters as men and leaders. Along the way, Sims picks up anecdotes about the history and significant events associated with the movement.

Using primary sources Sims presents an interesting window into the way these people view our society. There is ample speculation about membership numbers circa 1976 (the year in which much of the book was originally written), but the secrecy of the organization makes it impossible to find the truth.
Although those presented are the most radical examples of this brand of thought, I would venture to guess that a lot of lower and middle class whites in America have engaged in some watered down form of this thinking. I found myself confronting some of the perceptions and stereotypes I carry around with me, both about blacks AND whites.

The story of the Klan(s) is one of infighting, backstabbing and incompetence. But it is also about the very real frustrations, fears, and passions these people bring to the race issue in their everyday lives. It must have been very difficult for the author to remain openminded and hear what they had to say. I think she was able to make a fairly valiant effort.

This has got to be the most comprehensive look at the Klan that I have ever read. Her subjects talk to her as if they aren't afraid to reveal their secrets. It takes a talented author to make a klansman reveal the kind of stuff that is related in this book.

Writers are wonderfully creative beings, but sometimes a story is so intimate that you wonder if it's biographic in nature. Lonesome Road's main character is Ruth Brough, a mother who lives through one of the worst nightmares any mother can face--that of a missing child. Thanks to Martha Bennett Stiles suburb story telling, I can't help thinking that Ruth is real. The reader's experience is too real to be just fiction.

Lonesome Road isn't the run-of-the-mill crime investigation plot. The story isn't about the detective, the criminal, or even the child. We've already read those stories. Instead, Ms. Stiles gives us an almost voyeuristic peek into the mother's heart.

Only Ms. Stile's purposeful, intense, and flowing language kept me going once I knew what was coming. I'm glad I kept going, but I shook my head silently to myself the whole way through. When I was overcome with recognition, I stopped reading--yes, that is exactly what I might do. When I was overcome with reality, I stopped reading--did the author live this, I wondered.

The truth is, that's just storytelling at its best.

Ruth Brough is a blissfully happy, albeit somewhat naive stay-at-home mom who helps her husband on their horse farm. Ms. Stiles paints a serene and picturesque life, shattered by the unthinkable. Despite the event's horror, Ruth's story is one of hopeful coping--if I do this, then Lang will come home... yes, that is exactly how I would get through each day I think.

During the ordeal, we meet a variety of characters. Albert Blount, the black detective assigned to the case, deals with the subtle racism still alive and well in central Kentucky. Ms. Stiles balances his experiences nicely by giving him a sister who's not so fond of whites. It's a tough subject, but the author handles it with sensitivity and honestly. Ruth's friends--a poor mountain girl who leaves home to find a better life and a debutante socialite--provide insight into the community's character. Ruth's husband finds ways to distract himself when he can't share his grief. Through it all, Ruth remains steadfast and determined--If I just...

Perhaps what I appreciate the most about this story is the creative, yet succinct and forthright way the author shares the details of Ruth's struggle. Ms. Stiles never wastes a word and every word is perfectly poignant, just to the degree necessary--never more or less than is needed. Ms. Stiles set the characters and plot quickly. Before you know it, you're totally caught up in events. With each new character, I recognized pieces of myself. I cared about every character.

Be prepared for a few late nights because you won't want to put the book down. You won't be able to put the book down.

I lost 3 nights of sleep, anxious to see whether or not things would turn out right for Rose, Grove, Lang and Joanna. Right, of course, meaning that Lang would come home healthy - a question Rose agonizes over constantly; that Rose would withstand the heavy strain on her self and her family; and that Grove and Joanna would be able to get past their own fear and pain to support Rose in hers.

Ms. Stiles quickly got me involved with the cast of characters - all extremly well drawn, with sympathy and depth. I recognized pieces of myself in nearly every one of the major characters. It became important that the young detective be able to solve his case quickly and successfully, despite the very real handicaps of race and rural setting. And I got a chance to consider how I would hold up after the disappearance of one of my children - something I have carefully not looked at before. The horse country background refuses to stay in the background - becoming an integral part of setting and story.

Anyone who deals with children, parents, horses, neighbors, or strangers will be glad they read this one - even to the point of going to the office groggy with lack of sleep!

Every mother will instantly relate to the terror that grips Ruth Brough (rhymes with rough)when her young son, Lang, disappears without a trace. Your own heart stands still at the need to drain the home pond, at the constant, unceasing fear and pain she and her family must confront on an hourly basis while continuing a daily life. Her veterinarian husband must continue his practice, and their thoroughbred broodmares demand constant attention, a salvation, of sorts, in itself.

Adding to the mix, the detective assigned to the case, Albert Blount, is a highly educated black man working in a region still holding some prejudicial mores. His natural dedication is implemented by the obvious feelings of others that he may not perform as well as is needed to locate a white child.

This reader not only received the adrenalin rush of a mother when a child is in mortal danger, but was exposed to facts of horse breeding and care that would not have been brought to my attention otherwise. No wonder it is an expensive and heart breaking business. Coming from an area of the country that, I believe, is a little more advanced in understanding cultural mixes, I was at times taken aback by views expressed by the characters. Having come from a different region, however, I know that these views, unfortunately, still hold true in many areas of the United States.

Martha Bennett Stiles has written in the first person, interweaving the past with the present which kept me on my toes to discern which was which. I did get off track on occasion but on the whole, found the intermingling of the years to hold my attention quite well. I read consistently for three evenings to reach the summation of the crisis and was not disappointed. I intend to read it again to pick up on the more tangible, educational aspects. After all, I know people who own horses! And I will always be my own childrens' mother and will always hold their safety close to my heart.

This book fully engages the reader in the terror a family experiences when their child is kidnapped. The story is extremely well-told and involving. But there's so much more than the agony of the family members, particularly the mother, although that is so strongly felt. There is also a great deal of humor, surprising as that may seem, and the characters who gather around the family are sharply drawn. We were also very interested in the setting of the book, the Bluegrass area of Kentucky, because of the author's understanding of the class and racial tensions which collide in that pastoral setting. The book which comes from a small publisher has not received the attention we think it merits. Well, now you know that we think this is a really good book you shouldn't miss.

It's clear that the author is a doctor and not a writer. The book cries out for editing; writing errors and organizational issues permeate the book. That said, after I got about halfway through these things stopped bothering me. The story made up for it. The reality of the MASH is much more interesting than what's portrayed on the screen. It gave me a new respect for military medicine. If you can make it through the starting chapters it's a great read.

This book is not about the T.V. show M*A*S*H. But the tv show did get many of its episodes from this book. From arterial transplants to make shift clamps these Doctors opened many new doors to the medical world. Chapter 6 "In the O.R." is pretty gruesome. Details of intestinal wounds abdominal wounds and pretty much everything a war could destroy on a body.

But its not all blood and guts. D.R. Apel talks of the korean's who helped around the camp. The use of the white rocks in the compund. Plus his first day at the MASH was spent on his feet for 72 hrs. operating. Amazing.

I would have ggave the book a five star rating but there was a section on a paper the D.R. wrote on arteral repair which IMO took away from the book. It might have worked better at the end of the book.

Nice pictures of procedures and Korea. This book is a must for people who like the TV show and would really like to see what went on in a real MASH outfit during the real Korean war.

All i can say is at the end of this book you will be speachless, this a a timless classic that inspired a spawing fox tv series that is still shown today. I Don't want to give any of the book away so i wont tell you alot, but this book is a very highly recomennded book for those who loved the series and loved the movie (also found on amazon.com). "One of my favorites ever! "

Dr. Appell's book "M. A. S. H.: An Army Surgeon in Korea" is an excellent tribute to the men and women of the Mobile Army Surgical Hospitals by a veteran surgeon of the 8076TH M . A. S. H. unit. My only complaint is that the book was not a little longer. For any fan of the movie or t. v. series this book is a must-read. Dr. Appell (who was a consultant for the series), tells us what life was really like in a M. A. S. H. unit. The series took some liberties with actual events, but its overall portrayal was fairly accurate-though the series lasted 10 years compared to the three years of the Korean War itself, and the average length of stay for surgeons in a M. A. S. H. was about 8 months. Dr. Appell has written a very interesting book.

Kitty Oliver has taken a changing time in our country's history and shaped it into a time of growth, understanding and exploration of herself and the multifaceted world around her. Her writing makes you sigh out loud as she takes you with her through colorful, sometimes sad, sometimes funny memories of her life. A compilation of essays, this wonderful book easily moves from one tale to the next as Ms. Oliver admirably exposes her pain and joy for the world to see. Ms. Oliver's skill as a writer is, without question, astounding. With such a poetic style to her writing, this book will bring one last sigh to your lips as you close the book at its end, only wishing for more.

I hoped MULTICOLORED MEMORIES OF A BLACK SOUTHERN GIRL would continue past its 173 pages. I just finished the book, and I want more. Kitty Oliver's journey from a small Florida town to her travels around the world feel very real. "When a trip is over for me, however, I enjoy observing the way life falls back into place. The toothbrush slides into the cup waiting empty on the sink."
Kitty's honest account of her childhood, her family, her personal encounters with integration and her journey to find "home" resonate with each description and heartfelt memory. I'm a fan of her writing and look forward to more, soon!

For those of us who "came of age" during the time Kitty Oliver remembers so poignantly, her story is a great affirmation of our hopes and fears. In both Race and Change in Hollywood, and Multicolored Memories, Kitty writes down what some people knew and no one else cared about. The reviewer for Publisher's Weekly may dismiss the feelings of black reader's who grew up in the 60's, but Kitty Oliver doesn't.

Picture yourself in a SUV roving through out the countryside. You take in the view of the countryside but are in such a hurry to reach your destination to the point of not appreciating what you've seen. Kitty Oliver's autobiography is very similar to the above experience. She takes you through the roads, streets, detours and valleys of her life never stopping to give you a full appreciation of this native Floridian.

As the first generation of Black students to integrate the University of Florida in Gainesville (1965)Oliver certainly has a story to tell. It is one of turbulent times and great transitions as she leaves the segregated community of her youth and enters into a whole new chapter in her life. Oliver shows us her fears, drive and hope that she has for the future that was denied her elders. Now it is up to her to make a difference.

Kitty tells of her quest in finding her roots from the exploration of her Geechee background to her attempts to become a bridge to her estranged father's family. You meet up with a varied mix of people in her community (train workers, cooks, teachers,etc) who held things together even in their limited world. She also dispels the myth of the united Black community during segregation. You meet with Black people who are class conscious, want to keep the status quo and are insanely concerned about skin color. Her Jacksonville home reveals a diversity of Blacks who have their own opinions and mores that are not necessarily what one would want them to have.

Such a coming of age story has great potential but Oliver lets us down. She takes us on an excursion of her stream of consciousness as we roam from one subject to another. Her thoughts appear disconnected and you do get confused as to how she gets into school in one moment and then is married in the next without anything in between. She rarely talks about her own family except to mention her biracial adopted daughter and son. What about her husband and the lives they shared together? Was it unable to survive in an integrated world?

Oliver goes on and on about multi-culturalism as if she just discovered it. You get a sense that she doesn't fully appreciate who she is and at times you wonder how much she has assimilated (her word) in the white culture.

Despite those flaws her work is an enjoyable read of one reminiscing about those FIRSTS who broke the racial barriers and ushered in a new era. Her story is one that should be read, reflected upon and appreciated for its one particular viewpoint of a time gone bye.

Extremely good prose. A poignant testimony to the loss of the Earth's resources in the face of historical and current development. Highly recommend adding this to your book collection if you have any affinity to the natural world.

As eloquent as it is insightful. Barry Lopez moves us to see and question. A true gift from writer to reader.

Time is a precious commodity, and it is hard to find time to do all that must be done. But, the short time that is needed to read this book will be well worth spending.

When I was taking my Native American History class I discovered that there were two types of history. The first type dealt with Native Americans in a negative way the common steriotypes Native Americans were protrayed as dirty durnken and savage even in the modern average world.

The secound type is the opposite end of the spectrum Native Americans loved the land and were at peace with it. Than the big bad europians came along and killed them. But even in the modern day they carry on stoicly in the face of insermountable odds.

The truth is somewhere in between the two extremes and it is not hard to figure out into which of the two catogories this book falls. It pretends to be a serious historical approach but really is just prograganda. What happened to Native Americans was awful but people hhave been getting loads of crap dumped on them since the begining of time. Just because one group has been through a lot doesn't make them any better or noble than any of the rest of us.

Overall-I have a problem with the price 72 pages for 9 dollars?? Come on. I also think the book fails both as a historical work and as call to arms(its never quite sure which it is)

Get this book if this is your thing but do your research first.

Although this book is not of high quality literary-wise, it is very interesting. As a reader you get a realistic glimpse of how life in the Lithuanan Jewish gettho's was during WWII. I was shocked to find out that not only Germans, but Lithuanians and Poles too were involved in mass-killings of innocent people. 'The shadow of death' is a very suitbale titel, because that is exactly how the jewish people must have felt: living in the shadow of death.

While I know that genealogy searching can be difficult, please share this information where it will do the most good: with the author. As a Librarian, I depend on the kind of informative, concise, and relevant reviews that are shared on a regular basis by those kind souls who have actually read the book in question. Not having read the book, my stars are simply there so that I could post the messege. Thank you

I couldn't put this book down and didn't want it to end. Harry could easily write a sequel to this book of how he transitioned into American life. This book is very easy reading and insightful of the atrocities that happened in Lithuania. Harry I admire you.

Hello, Harry! I am your cousin, Leslie Hoffman Levenson (my mom's name was Ina Ginsberg, daughter of my grandfather Jack Ginsberg). I learned about your book on this title a while ago. I'd like to hear from you thru e mail shown at below (LEV10315@aol.com). Our cousin, Esther Ginsberg Cohen (daughter of Alex Ginsberg)also learns about you recently thru our cousin, Shelly and Marlee Ginsberg who went to the Museum of Holocaust in Wash. DC. Esther and I found each other by accident! Long story! We also found out there The Ginsberg brothers (Jack, Alex and Barney) did have sisters back in Lithuania we never knew ever existed). Please contact me and let you know that you have more cousins still living and well! Unfortunately, your book is out of print! Is there any way we can obtain that? Please don't put this on line as we the cousins are trying to locate you! :-) We are surely proud of your accomplishment for writing this book we want to read. We would love to know more about our descendents despite the history that happened. Thank you so much, Harry from your long lost cousin, LESLIE of Granada Hills, CA born in Buffalo, NY in 1948 daughter of Morris and Ina Hoffman (both still living).

wow, this book was really quite extraordinary, i loved it sooo much. i read it a few weeks ago, and now i decided to do my book report on it! so i am excited....but this book is so wonderful. it is historical fiction, and it brings together the fealings of happiness, sorrow, laughing-ness (if thats a word. lol.)and i really enjoyed it...Jessie Bovey is a bright young girl, and she is an amazing character.i loved her personality. and her grandma really is awesome there towards the end. lol. she kicks bootie. LOL. ha ha. but anyways. i would suggest to anyone who wants to read a brilliant book! well gtg. bye

I liked this book because Shutta Crum had a very unique writer's craft. It was a real page-turner! It had many of a 'big idea' and was funny at the same time. I liked the way she described the setting and the characters, it really gave you a feel that you were there with Jessica and Robert and had all the same feelings and thoughts. I think any person can enjoy this, even if they are into mystery, action, comedy...anything. This book included all of it, that's why it was so great to read.

I liked this book because Shutta Crum had a very unique writer's craft. It was a real page-turner! It had many of a 'big idea' and was funny at the same time. I liked the way she described the setting and the characters, it really gave you a feel that you were there with Jessica and Robert and had all the same feelings and thoughts. I think any person can enjoy this, even if they are into mystery, action, comedy...anything. This book included all of it, that's why it was so great to read.

This is my all-time favorite book. It's so hard to put into words how great it is! Throughout the novel I learned to care for the characters SO much, and I found myself crying, so nervous my stomach fluttered, or so happy I had the most amazing feeling inside me, like everything was perfect. It's amazing what talent Shutta has with her writing. I am encouraging *everyone* to read this book. The only warning I have...is that you'll be glued to it until the very last page. There were parts in the book where I wanted to skip ahead and find out what happened next! It is a perfect book about family, history, and loyalty. I have never read a book this inspiring and amazing in my entire lifetime. Shutta's charming words are sure to capture your heart with this heart-warming story about Jessica Kay Bovey.

I'll admit. I bought this book because the photographer, Harry Hinkle, is my cousin's husband.BUT.. I found myself drawn past the incredible photography of both Merton Thomas and Harry to the moving and insightful writing. The sheer joy of life reflected in the words AND photographs of this book, make me want to look at everything with new eyes and heart.

Thomas Merton's Gethsemani, Landscapes of Paradise by Monica Weis was, for me, a worthwhile read on a number of levels. Her premise was fascinating namely that Merton expanded his soul and grew progressively in his relationship with God by embracing not only the rules and rigors of monasticism but the mini-universe of the physical monastery, the land of Gethsemani itself. Weis details Merton's apprehension of this "paradise" with deceptive simplicity - the hills, rivers, storms, birds, smells and rhythms not only beckon him to deeper solititude but lead him into expanding realization, prayer and praise. And that for me, was the core accomplishment of the book. Weis never goes over the top. Her writing is clear and definite without strain, puffery or poetry. Rather the poetry of the book is her step by step detailing of the changes occuring within Merton himself as he allows Gethsemani - its physicality and metaphor - into his mind and heart. She traces the contours of a dynamic, poetic soul and the book shares the movement. Haley's black and white pictures of Gethsemani are simultaneously homey and mysterious; each invites a second look, a revaluation of your first response. His photography and Weis's premise go hand in hand. I remember one shot of a night sky - a black expanse spangled with hundreds of stars. It is sweeping and dramatic, far more majestic than those of woods, sheds and farm tools. Yet it locked perfectly with Weis's final chapters on Merton's (mystic) experience of a palpable unity; his sense that the world's religions have a common source and his full embrace of the METAPHOR he lived at Gethsemani. The book was my summer's morning read - a chapter a day with a cup of Starbuck's! A good way to start a day.

Mr. Hinkles evocative and enduring photographs and Ms. Weis' lyrical
text complement each other in support of Thomas Merton's enormous life. This is a precious text largely because it celebrates the courage to
simply be. One can read about Merton's contemplative life and very nearly be with him--in his light under the trees and sky and birds which
are fundamental and which were so essential to his routine, his daily
habit. Weis' text in particular is a carefully crafted essay--both probing and reverential. The book is an acheivement.

Five stars for the stunning photography of Harry L. Hinkle, and the wonderful layout of this volume, with it's telling quotes from Thomas Merton's own nature writings. His nature oeuvre is substantial, and this volume fills a need. Unfortunately, the essay text by Monica Weis is unbalanced. One is left with a very misleading idea of what this man was really about. He was not just a Franciscan icon lost in the rapture of the forests. On one level, we do a disservice to this great man in constantly perpetuating this kind of mythology. Too many reverential, saccharine treatments have been printed already. Merton was so much more; and others, beginning with biographer Michael Mott, have brought real balanced treatment to the life of this extremely complex man.

In the Foreward, Brother Patrick Hart makes mention of pilgrimages to the the places of interest in the physical and spiritual odessey of Thomas Merton. Who are these dear people who feel the need to do precisely what Thomas Merton himself so often railed against? Please desist from attempting to create an Icon of this most complex of human beings.

To The End of the Solar System is an excellent primer on the nuclear rocket -- the history that might have been, and still waiting to be. It is a story even avid spaceflight fans may not have heard. Dewar presents a very readable account of the visionary engineers, project managers, and politicians who developed the first nuclear thermal rockets. The narrative covers the politics and engineering (with supplementary appendices) without being overwhelming. It explains why the nuclear rocket is superior to chemical engines, yet why the world failed to embrace it. The technology has lain dormant for decades, but is quietly making a revival in NASA's project Prometheus and elsewhere. Learn where it all started and where it's going; read To The End of the Solar System. It is well worth the price of admission.

Excellent book... a must read for anyone interested in space propulsion technology which needs a 'second look' to enable humans to bridge our Solar System in the future.

Six million horsepower from a reactor the size of a 55 gallon drum. This was the promise of the ultimate in all-American 60's muscle - the nuclear thermal rocket engine. With it, you could send jumbo jet sized payloads to the Moon, or send a crew to Mars in 3 months.

James A. Dewar's exhaustively researched work (there are 91 pages of footnotes) shows both the technical and political sides of the 18 year effort to develop the nuclear rocket. Like the space program itself, the nuclear rocket program was a creature of the Washington political process.

While lacking the polish of a David McCullough, Dewar does a good job of introducing the cast of characters and their competing visions for America's technologic and social future.

Dewar's thesis is that the nuclear engine was feasible and would have revolutionized space travel, boosting mankind into a 2001 Space Odyssey. I found his viewpoint to be refreshing, especially in contrast to the dour visions of historians such as Richard Rhodes. He devotes Appendix D of the book to "safety and environmental aspects of testing."

Perhaps the most poignant vision one gets from reading the book is that of the turning of a page in American history. With the end of Apollo and the nuclear engine project in 1973 we go from an era of limitless promise, to an era of sharply limited outcomes.

I have been a big fan of the Nuclear Thermal Rocket for many years. In 1966 my family drove by the Jackass Flats test site and I still have vivid memories of the AEC carpools passing us at 100mph on their private freeway from Las Vegas, hard hats stacked next to the back windows of their government-issue Chevys.

As I learned more about this program in recent years, the advantages of nuclear rockets seemed less clear to me. Is the 2x reduction in propellant weight really worth the big increase in cost and danger of a white-hot nuclear reactor? This book confirms my growing suspicions that NTR was and is a bad idea. The bare facts make it clear that this technology wasn't worth the costs even in the nuclear-friendly 1950s.

One often sees the claim that NERVA had a flight-ready design at the time of cancellation in 1971. The detailed descriptions of the many reactor tests in this book make it clear that this really wasn't so. Despite a huge amount of research, the high-temperature graphite/uranium fuel elements in these reactors were still subject to considerable cracking, corrosion and erosion. It was considered a great milestone when a test reactor lost less than 100lbs of bomb-grade uranium blown out the nozzle, mostly in the form of gas or microscopic inhalable particles.

This shouldn't have been a surprise to anyone. The great nuclear physicist Luis Alvarez had pointed out the fundamental physical limitations of the H2/U-235 rocket engine in an obscure but unclassified journal as early as 1947. And the Rover/NERVA project was consistently opposed by every Presidential Science Adviser and every NASA Administrator right up to its final cancellation in 1971. Why then was so much public money wasted on a project that almost all competent observers thought was unwise?

This is the strongest aspect of Dewar's book. He has reconstructed in great detail the political deals that kept Rover and NERVA alive. It's a fascinating window into a past age of Congressional politics -- an age when a few powerful committee chairmen ruled the Hill with an iron fist, deciding billion-dollar research programs at all-night poker parties lubricated with large amounts of hard liquor. None of these men had any kind of technical education at all, and their decisions seem to have largely been based on pork barrel politics. It's no accident that the strongest supporter of NERVA was Sen. Clinton Anderson of New Mexico, home of Los Alamos where most of the NERVA funding ended up.

But I also wanted to learn all the technical details of the program, and in this area Dewar has come up short. He obtained a vast number of formerly-classifed internal project documents, but the information from them is not conveyed to the reader in a digestible form. Dewar has tried to water down the subject to make it understandable for a non-technical audience. This is really difficult to do in a complex field like fission reactor design, and some of his analogies and interpretations are oversimplified and downright misleading. A few tables summarizing the different reactor designs and their test histories would have been nice.

Dewar also adopts the annoying practice of summarizing lenghty policy documents in his own words, without including the original text in a appendix. On p.248-249, he even includes what seems to be a totally imaginary conversation between some of the major players in NERVA -- hardly an acceptable practice for serious historians.

Even worse, there are a few telling technical errors that make me doubt that Dewar understands nuclear physics very well. In an attack on anti-nuclear activists on p.209-210, he confuses Pu-239 with Pu-238. These isotopes have very different properties and safety problems.

But the biggest problem with this book is that the author is a true believer. He repeats as gospel truth all the claims made by pro-NERVA politicians, while expressing nothing but scorn for the opinions of highly qualified experts like Alvarez, Herbert York, and Jim Webb. When he states facts, he usually can be trusted. But his analysis and opinions are highly biased and untrustworthy. I hope somebody writes a better book on this topic someday -- but I'm keeping this one until that happens.

Mr. Nickell once again takes on the forces of ignorance, superstition, and gullibility in his usual deliberate and easily-understandable fashion. Highly recommended!

A great, if brief, collection of Mr. Nickell's studies of various paranormal happenings across the globe in the service of Skeptical Inquirer Magazine. The book will not convince true believers of their errors but skeptics will find his tales light and entertaining reading. Several times I would have liked a more thorough study or investigation done, or perhaps more of the author's thoughts and insights... I guess we'll have to wait for Mr. Nickell's next "real" book for that!

"Adventures in Paranormal Investigation" is the latest collection of Joe Nickell's investigative essays from "The Skeptical Inquirer" magazine. Previous volumes include "Real Life X-Files: Investigating the Paranormal," and "The Mystery Chronicles: More Real Life X-Files."

Many skeptics approach the paranormal with a condescending and even insulting tone, implying that those who believe in paranormal phenomena are stupid or venal or both. Not surprisingly, it's awfully hard to get someone to agree with you if you begin or end your argument by insulting them. Nickell avoids this mistake, and he makes a serious effort to evaluate and test claims about hauntings, UFOs, alien abductions, ghost towns, Roswell, the Nasca lines, ghost ships, bleeding statues, crops circles, crystal skulls and a whole host of other pseudoscientifc "mysteries." Generally speaking, Nickell is not too hard on the people he disagrees with, with the exception of fraudulent psychics and healers who use "cold reading" and other unscrupulous methods to separate grieving or injured people from their money.

True believers probably aren't going to be convinced by this book, but for the most part they won't be put off by it either. Skeptics, on the other hand, will learn to think about unexpected phenomena in new and different ways. This book will give the card-carrying skeptic some new insights that will make those cocktail party conversations with "true believers" even more entertaining.

If you enjoy this sort of "gentle but insightful" skepticism, you may want to pick up some of Nickell's other books--among my favorites are "Unsolved History" (an updated version of "Ambrose Bierce is Missing"), "Secrets of the Supernatural," and "Entities: Angels, Spirits, Demons, and Other Alien Beings." In the same spirit (so to speak) are Brian Dunning's "Skeptoid: Critical Analysis of Pop Phenomena" and his ongoing "Skeptoid" podcasts.