Washington Books

This book was a disappointment for me. Although the plot of the book was good and interesting, the author introduced so many characters, many at the same time that I found it confusing and I had to go back several times to previous pages to see who the heck certain characters were! It took me three times the amount of time to finish this book as it normally would. It felt more like a text book than a romance novel. Could we keep the focus on fewer characters next time? Geeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeez!!!

THIS IS MY 1ST BOOK THAT I HAVE READ BY ALTONYA WASHINGTON AND LET ME TELL YOU I READ THE BOOK IN ONE AND WENT BACK TO MAKE SURE I DIDNT MISS ANYPARTS :) BUT WOW THE WHOLE BOOK WAS AWESOME AND I WILL DEFINETLY READ THE OTHER ONE

AlTonya has a great recipe that blends romance, passion and suspense that makes a great novel. The Ramsey's have become one of my favorite family series. In this installation Fernando Ramsey and Contessa Warren hook-up and the sparks fly right off the page. Both characters hide behind their hard-up images, but once they get together, the real Contessa and Fernando are revealed. Their story is full of love, revelations, romance and lots of passion. She catches us up with Ramsey's that we already know (Quest and Quay) and she gives us a deeper look at the ones that we are waiting to find out more about (Yohan, Moses and a few others).

You know AlTonya had to throw a twist in there to keep us in suspense and begging for more. I am NOT too proud to beg either! I can't wait for the next book. Those Ramsey's are just YUMMY! Plus, I can't wait to find out the answer to the murder mystery.

I have a favorite scene that deals with my favorite Ramsey and 15 minutes! Be sure to pick up this book to find out what it is....

Fernando Ramsey grew up believing that a woman was an object only used to satisfy a man's desire. With a father like Marcus Ramsey how could he accept anything else? His father is the master of manipulation and never treated his mother with the respect that she deserved. Nevertheless, Fernando yearns for a magical love that his parents never possessed. Fernando never thought he would find that kind of love until he met Contessa Warren. Here is a beautiful woman that is sexy-as-hell and vastly feisty - just the type of woman Fernando desires.

Contessa Warren is on a mission to discover all the dirty little secrets the Ramsey's have hidden in their closet. She is positive the family is tangled up in a scandal or two and she believes that she is just the person to uncover them all. However, there is just one problem with her plan - Fernando Ramsey. Contessa isn't sure how it happened; but she finds herself instantly falling under Fernando's alluring charm. Will Contessa be able to continue her quest to reveal all the Ramsey skeletons, knowing it could cause great disgrace to Fernando's family name?

With A Lover's Mask being the third book in the Ramsey family saga, I am finding it very difficult not to repeat myself over and over again about the superior writings of this series. Readers, if you are a huge fan of tantalizing suspense, deceitfulness, love, passion and countless shocking secrets then this series is just what the doctor order. I am simply amazed at AlTonya Washington's storytelling - each book gets better and spicier than its predecessor. I loved everything about A Lover's Mask! From the spectacular mystery to smoking hot sexual encounters. The sensational foreplay between Contessa and Fernando will have you going up in heated flames while the dramatic suspense will have you tangled up in a massive web. Just when you think you have figured everything out, Ms. Washington flips the script on you and throws you for a tale spin. To receive the full impact of the Ramsey clan, I would suggest reading each book in the order that it was release. However, if you just happen upon this fantastic novel first you will not feel at a lost because Ms. Washington gives great background details in A Lover's Mask.

Nikita Steele
Reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed

Ms. Washington has spun quite an ENGAGING series about a very wealthy and powerful African American family with MAJOR issues! She has masterfully integrated the heroes and villains within this BIG dysfunctional circle of family and friends. This series gives new meaning to the saying, "Keep your friends close and your enemies closer". To have to CONSTANTLY be on your toes like that with your own family! NOT being able to trust your own father or uncle. WOW!! Each installment to this series just gets better and better. Fernando and Contessa definitely heat up the pages of this novel with their sexy SIZZLIN' encounters. And the mystery and intrigue surrounding their budding relationship only aids in making this an even more intriguing page-turner. Will Fernando and County finally remove their masks and be truthful with each other before it's too late?!! Or will another couple be DOOMED to failure due to the many skeletons hidden deep within this family's closet?!! I am having a blast "watching" these scandalous secrets unfold before my eyes. And I CAN'T wait to get to the next installment to see what other tangled webs Ms. Washington and Ramsey's will spin for my reading pleasure!

I really enjoyed this book. Ms. Washington has it going on when it comes down to her writing. She keeps you in supspense and just when you think you know whose who, guess what? You're wrong. I just pray that you continue doing what you're doing. You are truly blessed.

Ms. Washington's love mysteries have a twist of their owns. They keep you guessing. When you think you have solved the plot, there is another mystery developing right under your nose. I can not wait to find out who really killed Ms.Black or did she kill herself.
Abxious in Okinawa, Japan

I loved this book, even though Quay was chasing Tyke I figured if he would have stopped she would have found her way back. But even thought I loved their love story I think Quest and Mick love story was the best in A Lover's Dream...

Renowned rail designer, Tykira Lowery, has not set foot in Seattle since she left home for college years ago - all due to her painful breakup with Quaysar Ramsey. Out of the blue, the Ramsey Group contacts her with a challenging job offer that she can't refuse. Completing this major, multi-dollar task would make her already successful business skyrocket to a whole new level. Not about to allow a grand opportunity to pass her by, Ty decides to return to Seattle with her business team. She vows to maintain tight control over her emotions and uphold a professional relationship with Quay, or better yet, steer clear of him as much as possible. But, Ty quickly finds out it is much easier said than done to stay out of Quay's arms.

Quaysar Ramsey has been in love with Ty for a very long time; but, he has always been determined to keep her at a distance. Dangerous threats have been made against all the woman in his past and he is not about to endanger Ty's life. For years, Quay was able to stay away from Ty; however, when she returns to Seattle at the request of his twin brother, Quest, Quay finds it difficult to deny his raging desire to claim Ty as his own. Will the hardship from their devastating breakup continue to be a major obstacle between them? And, more so, if by a miracle Quay and Ty are able to reunite as a couple, will the demon from Quay's past resurface and cause major havoc, possibly ending Ty's life?

AlTonya Washington is back again with her sequel novel in the Ramsey family saga. A Lover's Pretense was just as hot and intense as its prelude. All I can say is WOW! I loved A Lover's Pretense! It seems as if each new segment in the Ramsey family series just keeps getting better and more exciting. Ms. Washington has mastered the act of teasing and torturing the reader until you find yourself rapidly flipping page after page, eager to see what will happen next. Even though the main feature in the phenomenal A Lover's Pretense was Ty and Quay's love story; it also revealed the person behind the murder mystery that carried over from the first novel; touched on up on Mick and Quest's life after marriage; taunted about the future love interests of more Ramsey men and developed another secret that stemmed from the original anonymity. Whew! Readers, if you admire a cocky, dominate, suave, compassionate, sexy-as-hell type of man - then Quay is THE man. Ty had a lot on her plate in her dealings with Quay, yet, she handled herself and Quay with class and style. Although Ms. Washington did an excellent job of giving great background information, I would suggest reading A Lover's Dream before tackling A Lover's Pretense because of the continuation of the suspenseful murder mystery and, more importantly, to experience the satisfaction of Mick and Quest's union. A Lover's Pretense is positively a Joyfully Reviewed Recommended Read!

Nikita Steele
Reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed

I am definitely CAUGHT UP in this series! Ms. Washington has once again created another page-turner with "A Lover's Pretense". The Ramsey men are once again quite a MEMORABLE treat. Quaysar and Tykira can't control the INTENSE sparks that are still simmering when they meet again after so many years apart. Quay is handsome, cocky, and quite the charmer, but he is also EXTREMELY loving and protective towards the women in his life (his mother, Tykira, and Mick). And despite his MANY flaws Ty knows in her heart that he is the ONLY man she'll ever love. But will his dark and mysterious past continue to get in the way of their chance at a happily-ever-after?!! You will be totally captivated by the mystery and romance in book two of this intriguing series.

James Halon will tickle your adventure-bone with this novel! His characters have an incredible depth to them, and the premise of his story is unique and fast-paced. Halon's main character Jim Morgan has wit, intrigue and sex-appeal. Morgan is today's James Bond without all the gadgets and far-fetched scenarios. See what happens when a Field Engineer is thrown into a life of spys, danger, and romance! Even Halon's 'bad guy' has been done originally and is a refreshing departure from the norm. I recommend this book to anyone who loves adventure with a twist of romance!! For Halon fans, be sure to check out his collection of poetry entitled "Poetry" by James Halon, too! You will glad that you did! This author is extremely versatile and has a firm grip on how to entertain a reader!

James Halon takes the spy thriller to a whole new level with his novel The Malagasy Tortoise. Engineer Jim Morgan has a knack for being in the wrong place at the wrong time and making the most of it. Fancy clothes, secret weapons, Bond girls, Morgan doesn't need them (well almost!)as he battles the forces of evil. Humor, witty dialogue, brilliant description, and imaginative situations keep this fast paced book clicking along.

James Halon has done an excellent job of mixing elements of intrigue, action packed adventure, and infatuation.Jim Morgan, like so many men, is carnially motivated by love - or lust (I'm not sure he knows the difference). His motto seems to be love the one your with. His overactive libido leads him into one disastrous scenario after another.
On his quest to find the rare Malagasy Tortoise in Madagascar, he finds himself torn between his recently reunited love, Eunice and the young, sultry, CIA agent, Sophie. Perhaps, the mysterious Tina Johnson would be a good distraction from this dilemma. What is a man capable accomplishing in the name of love? Jim Morgan, an engineer by trade, finds himself smack in the middle of a CIA covert operation. Car crashes, burning buildings, Russian prisons, is any woman worth the tortures he finds himself enduring?
This book is a great read for any audience. It's difficult to find characters portrayed so honestly. James Bond, he's not. Jim Morgan tries to be just as suave and sophisticated with the ladies. Instead, his charismatic wit and humor seem to be his strong point. In the end, like Bond, Morgan finds his share of love / lust.
This reader can't wait for the next, Jim Morgan Adventure!

If James Bond was an Engineer and wore sweatshirts instead of tuxedos his name would be Jim Morgan... Well, maybe not. Morgan is a refreshingly unique character unlike the typical male protagonist. James Halon has conjured many wonderful characters in this book that take the reader on a bizarre quest for a rare tortoise. A quest that reveals multiple lovers, deadly spies and plenty to laugh at along the way. I look forward to Jim's next adventure and future dreams.

Author Jim Halon has managed to create characters that enabled this reader to feel she knows them personally. A very well crafted story with laugh out loud writing. The humor the author displays throughout is refreshing and uplifting.

Halon has a wonderful ability to place the reader "there"...with exceptional description, one feels like they're partaking of the adventure right along with Morgan. The fresh prose delights throughout the story. "My steak disappeared so fast that David Copperfield, the infamous illusionist, would have been awestruck, and demanding that I eat another so he could pick up on my trick."

I was gravely mistaken when I initally thought this was a "man's" adventure story. Halon has combined adventure with a hefty amount of humor and romance. This reader was quite impressed with his choice of female characters...strong-willed, intelligent, competent, attractive and independent. Don't expect a damsel in distress in this novel. Halon's female characters makes this particular female reader exceptionally impressed with what he created. All of them, including Morgan himself, are realistic and believable. I sincerely give this novel a five star rating, only because six wasn't available. Order a copy, curl up in a comfortable spot and prepare to be highly entertained! This author has great promise and I look forward to the sequel.

What god or goddess at which mystery school taught Bruce MacKinnon the strong love and yearning that he shows for his father, mother, wife and son and who taught him the felicitous turns of phrase that give them life on these pages? What woman would not want to be the inspiration for "Atlantis" or the child commemorated by the "Butter Knife" or the mother so tenderly recalled in "Stories?" B. Forden

MacKinnon's poetry is intense, sometimes dark, definitely mood-altering, and nothing short of brilliant! I tried to limit myself to reading only one or two poems per day (not an easy task) in order to fully digest the beauty of his thought-provoking visions. I loved this book, will pass it on to friends, and will read it again and again.

I read poetry only if I happen upon it. By some good fortune I happened upon this lovely book. I got all the poems, identified with many. hope for the rest, look forward to books to follow.

Mystery Schools delightfully accessible, poignant, brutally honest, and universal in its portrayal of the author's experience. Very enjoyable reading.

Published in September, Mystery Schools seems particularly suited to the fall of the year. There is an underlying poignancy to many of MacKinnon's poems. It's not that they are winter-cold or somber, but the loving moments from his life, so vividly portrayed, are often tinged with sadness. The portraits of his father and mother are especially moving - even heart-wrenching - especially "Stories," "A Different Law," and "A Cabin in the Woods."

I found myself thinking of Mystery Stories as I drove alone last week, on a crisp day when the sun illuminated stands of brilliant red and orange foliage, only to be covered the next instant by scudding dark clouds.

The initiation rituals of the mystery schools were often dark, weren't they? And some of the glimpses the author gives us of his coming-of-age years reveal the careless cruelties common to the young, seen now through the mature eyes of a thoughtful, loving man, whose journey is laid bare before us in a series of reflections and meditations. Here is a soul whom we find in several poems seeking his way as a young man in a holy order: "then I'm on my knees scrubbing cracks in tile/ with a toothbrush, not at all sure how I got here,/ knowing it has something to do with light."

Ultimately, however, it's the death of the father, not the Son, which casts a chiaroscuro image, like scattered sunlight on the shadowed forest of fallen and falling autumn leaves, on all the stories of this talented poet's life.

I look forward to his next collection.

Braiden has captured the unique flavors of Oregon, Washington, Idaho and B.C. with her lively commentary of the distinct ingredients you can find there. Her profiles of people and places make me want to visit each and every destination. If I can't get to that farm or winery, at least I can make the meal myself - and pour a glass of Braiden's hand-picked Northwest wine recommendations to accompany it.

The recipes are easy and delicious, inspiring us to use local, seasonal and sustainable ingredients. So far, our family favorites are the Grilled Asparagus Salad with Prosciutto, Parmigiano-Reggiano, and Balsamic Vinaigrette and the Dungeness Crab with Ginger-Cilantro Mayonnaise! Yummy~

This cookbook is absolutely gorgeous. It is a wonderful guide to the Pacific Northwest for both locals and visitors. The recipes are fabulous (try the Chipotle Chocolate Cake) and very easy to do at home, while still elegant. And the wine pairing suggestions are spot on. Outstanding book that would make a great addition to anyone's cookbook collection - and one that you will actually use.

This book offers many exceptional recipes however there are two from Chef Maury Bennett in Idaho that are amazing his passion for local fares radiates through his ideas. I would like to see an entire cook book done by him!!

For the wine and food nut, this book is of epic proportion. Vivid and lively pictures combined with the real people and real stories of the Pac NW illustrates the connection between Braiden Rex-Johnson and her subject. The
wine country traveler's guide to the good life in the Pac NW. Bravo!

To counter the damp and dreary days of winter I surround myself with distractions that promise better days to come. At the top of my pile is Braiden Rex-Johnson's Pacific Northwest Wining and Dining. Just looking at the cover of this love letter to NW cuisine warms me. I imagine myself dining al fresco on the patio of this restaurant or a myriad of others. Then I pour over the interior pages, like a gardener pouring over a seed catalogue in winter. I indulge in the descriptions of familiar restaurants and wineries as well as intriguing new ones. I plan our next excursion into Eastern Washington or the Willamette Valley or the always promising Vancouver area, while noting the recipes from these areas that we want to make today and the wines we will want to serve with them. I smile at the quotes from favorite and unfamiliar chefs and feel as though I now know something of what makes them who they are. And then I remember another friend who I want to share this book with and I'm back online to order it. What a perfectly luscious way to wile away the winter days.

I really enjoyed this book immensely. A great balance of good things happening to offset the horrible violence of a serial killer. I was told it was more of a love story, and it certainly had demonstrated the loving nature of a lot more than just the main characters. Excellent book, can't wait for the next.

Took me awhile to finally pick this book up to read but
when I did I could not put it down.Stephen King move over.
Waiting on the next book Robert.

As an avid reader of Mary Higgins Clark and Fern Michaels I put the book aside. I started to read the book then while shopping picked up another book by Mary Higgins Clark putting "Serial" to the side. I am ashamed, three days ago I picked Serial up again and couldn't put it down. As a book worm and Co-worker of Mr. Strange I would like to congratulate you, Excellent. The chapters well written and the viewing of each character at the same scene. I loved it and can't wait for the next book to be published......HURRY UP!!!!!

This book takes a little time to get into it but once it grabs your attention you don't want to put it down until the end! I really enjoyed the way Mr. Strange keeps the reader on their toes by moving from one scene to another and back again. Look out Stephen King. Once the word is out this author is sure to have the number one best seller!

This book takes a little time to get into it but once it grabs your attention you don't want to put it down until the end! I really enjoyed the way Mr. Strange keeps the reader on their toes by moving from one scene to another and back again. Look out Stephen King. Once the word is out this author is sure to have the number one best seller!

I loved this book. I kinda wish it was more about Ashley and Sean and less Kate and Tyler but it was amazing! I never would have guessed the ending. I did think it was sad that everyone sacrificed their lives to protect the family's secrets but I guess I can understand that. I would recommend this book to anyone.

This was a most intelligent and enthralling story; not only intriguing, but sensual as well. All characters were well-thought out and interesting. From the very first, when Tyler appears on the scene, the story and romance grabs you. There was one fascinating plot after another, and I found myself half-crazed to know the secrets, and to see how Tyler and Kate got together, along with Sean and Ashley. And to find out whose baby it was and what became of Jeremy. I have been reading romance/suspense for a number of years and Ms. Freethy has become an addition to list of my best authors.

Stormy relationships and a stormy sailing adventure combine to make this a better-than-average read. Barbara Freethy keeps you guessing about the big family secret and the ending is predictible but still fun. It's a great way to pass a summer afternoon at the beach or just curled up on the living room sofa.

If you want a love story wrapped up with some intrigue, SUMMER SECRETS is the book for you. All the while I was reading the book, I was trying to guess the secret ... and never could! The romance and mystery will keep you turning the pages as fast as you can. Great read.

I, for once, never disappointed with Barbara Freethy, ever since I purchased my first book of her (One True Love) few years ago. She is my favorite author when it comes to family stories. She always manages to write such beautiful, heartwarming, and also real family stories. The joy, the tears, the fears, the loyalty ... they are always there, knotted into one amazing story. She did it again with SUMMER SECRETS. Each character stands out with their own self. The sisters are uniquely different with one another but nevertheless, united with a strong bond called "family. The romance of course, is also beautiful. I love the chemistry between Tyler and Kate, also Ashley and Sean. I just wish Caroline will get her own man. This book is wonderful read ... if you don't know Barbara Freethy, you're missing such a talented author!

The portrayal of our defense industry in this story is unfortunately accurate. We have placed so much emphasis on "smart weapons", that we have forgotten the real effectiveness of our military. The action and pace of this book will keep the reader enthralled and they will not want to put it down.

In an author's afterword, Peters decribes this book as his homage to Chandler, Hammett and Cain, which it most certainly is. But there's no overt emulation of the style of any of those authors; what one does experience is the exhilarating momentum of plot, vivid characterization, and the acerbic wit that those authors brought to bear in their work. Peters' protagonist is an honorable man making his way through a chaotic present, similar to Philip Marlowe in Chandler's novels, with a comparable eye and ear for the "luminous detail." And the first-person perspective makes for some great interior monologue throughout the book. Readers who are dismayed by the lack of moral center in the books of such authors as James Ellroy might find Peters' writing a worthy alternative.

I've read almost all of Ralph Peters' novels, and this is probably my favorite to date. I passed it over in hardcover--frankly it didn't sound very interesting. I couldn't have been more wrong: it's one of the best written, engrossing novels I've read in a long time. Peters is one of the few military thriller writers that can name drop Thomas Hardy novels and actually make us believe his characters read them. I know what a cliche this sounds, but I couldn' t put it down. Peters has within him his best novel yet--some day he'll write the Once An Eagle of his generation of officers.

I just finished another excellent novel by Ralph Peters --- Traitor (hard cover).

I placed it at the bottom of a stack of books I brought home from the library, two weeks ago. I generally put his books at the top of my reading list, but the cover art was so impressively unappealing and the title so blasé that I almost took it back to the library unread.

It seems to me that Mr. Peters has proven his ability to write exceptional, and well plotted, thrillers. Why would anyone stick such an uninspired cover on a truly extraordinary read?

If someone likes Clancy, Higgins, et. al. they should love Ralph Peters.

After 25 years in the defense industry, watching the Services buy big things they don't need while neglecting small things they do (like enough pay so the troops don't have to be on food stamps), it continues to disturb me that the American taxpayer continues to allow Congress to sell out to what Ike Eisenhower called the "military-industrial complex". TRAITOR could have been a documentary. This is a great novel, thrilling and unpredictable, but it is also based on the real world and all the more gripping because of this.

This is a well researched and written book about the Indian wars on the New York and Pennsylvania frontiers during the American Revolution. It tells the stories of the Wyoming Massacre, the Cherry Valley Massacre and the Sullivan campaign providing the details on each but in a very readable format. It also provides some details on other not so well known events on the frontiers like the situation around Pittsburgh and in western Pennsylvania. Consequently, this book fills in a gap in the American Revolution and worth the purchase for any individual interested in reading more about that period.

After two years of fighting in America with limited success, the British felt they were, to coin a popularized modern term, in a bit of a quagmire, and sought a new strategy for their overseas war. The new strategy involved moving the war away from the more populated northeast and into the western frontier. This move would not only disperse the already diminutive American forces, but would also allow Britain to utilize its strongest North American allied force, the Iroquois Indian Confederacy.

Glenn William's book, THE YEAR OF THE HANGMAN: WASHINGTON'S WAR AGAINST THE IROQUOIS chronicles the events that took place in those western frontier skirmishes and battles. The book derives its name for the year, 1777, which had become popularly known at the time as the `year of the hangman' due to the three sevens appearance of gallows when written, though the majority of the events actually occurred in 1779. Though using that title for his book was too good of an opportunity to pass up, William's title is slightly misleading as to the dates of the primary events.

The Iroquois, though primarily located in Western and Central New York, were quite possibly the strongest Indian nation of North America for a span of over 500 years. Their control reached across the Great Lakes into Central Wisconsin and their rise to prominence came at the cost of driving out, and driving to extinction, numerous other Indian tribes of the region. They were, to be sure, a force to be reckoned with.

Both the Americans and the British had heavily lobbied allegiance with the Iroquois, but in the end, the Indians felt their best chance for future lay at the hands of the British and consequently, four of the six main tribes of the Iroquois sided with the British. This error in judgment would prove fatal to the Iroquois nation, when, as a primary result of the Sullivan Expedition, the Iroquois nation would virtually lose all of its military and political power.

While the Sullivan Expedition is the primary focus of William's book, other major events are deftly chronicled as well, such as the Battle of Oriskany and the Wyoming Valley attacks. By 1979, Gen. Washington had successfully developed the army making it capable of taking the fight to the Indians and literally destroying their economical stability and rendering them harmless, not just for the remainder of the revolution, but into the subsequent years of frontier settlement into the traditional Iroquois homelands.

That Washington was able to develop a force the size of the Sullivan Expedition (5000 men) is in and of itself, a testament to Washington's military leadership abilities and, though today, only an afterthought in Revolutionary history, stands as one of the General's greatest military accomplishments.

This is good reading. Glenn William's had put together a readable and valuable presentation of a rather forgotten aspect of America's fight for independence.

Monty Rainey
Junto Society

Mr. Williams recent book describes in excellent, understandable detail what caused the Americans to invade Iroquois territory and the effects of the invasion. His book is an excellent companion to another book I have read titled History of Wyoming, by Charles Miner that was originally written in 1845. Miner interviewed people who survived or were connected to the Wyoming Massacre, while Williams had access to all the archives. The two books fill in details and each makes the other more rewarding to read.

I read this book because I have Loyalist ancestors who were members of Butler's Rangers and almost certainly participated in the battles described in such detail. My ancestors, William Pickard and his 2 sons James and Benjamin, two privates and a drummer boy, did not get mentioned in the book, but that was not a problem since around 900 people were in Butler's Rangers. They survived to move to Canada after the war and they started large families after leaving their homes in Tryon County.

The book has a nice section on the key personalities that I found useful since there were Butlers on both the Loyalist and Patriot sides. The book would be improved by detailed maps. Unless you can imagine where places like Tioga, Unidilla and Stone Arabia are, you will read the book in front of your computer with Google Maps open as I did. The book would also be improved with contemporary photos of the battle sites; some of these, like the Battle of Newton, were easily found on the web.

I learned much from the book and enjoyed it. It was very interesting to see that the Rangers contained a good number of Black soldiers who lived with the rest of the Rangers and the Indians. It was also interesting to see how both sides courted the Indians and tried to win their support. The book really makes the Revolution look much more like a civil war than people typically think.

The book was well written to the point that the book rich in detail was not lost by the tremendous amout of utilized quotes and reference points. More detail on the life style and pressures (for survival)of settlements along the frontier border would have been benefical.

The word artificial originally meant "artful, crafty." That's an apt description of ARTIFICIAL IMAGINATION, which blends art, craft, and wit into a narrative that teaches us life lessons that we did not knew we knew.
-- Richard Lederer, author of Anguished English

Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R2JQ1EBHV3YOR6 Great book, nice splash of humor--high quality photos! I specially like the love story at the end.

Here are some links to photo posters and calendars from the book and promotional T-shirts:
Scenic City and Boat Photo Poster
University of Washington Photo Poster
Seattle Secenic Sunset Photograph
Seattle Secenic Photograph
Thonging At the Beach
San Francisco Scenic Union Square Photo Poster
Pike Place Market Photo Print
Beach Hotties Poster

This book transcends genre -- it's a good collection of memoirs, entertaining style, nice splash of humor, an extremely detailed travelogue with beautiful photographs, a good description of technology, a touch of Science Fiction (since it is purportedly written by a Artificial Imagination program) and suffused with philosophical musings.

Even though it's obviously written by a Technologist, the book is very human. It is primarily about the immigrant experience, but Kalpanik is extremely observant and has an eye to look for the unusual, notice what stands out and build humorous side of people, places and his own life.

Wonderful! one can feel a touch of his bitter-sweet experiences but one is encouraged by his ability to find humor everywhere.

Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R1CJDZRIOJJIFN Kalpanik's writing is down to earth, funny, witty and smart. He chronicles his journey of self-discovery with an amazing detail and humor. His coverage of the various places he has been to--UC Davis, San Francisco, San Diego, Seattle and Nashville-- was informative and enjoyable, and so were his jokes around them. I recommend this book to anyone looking for light reading, specially busy professionals who do not have time to read a whole book in one straight session but want to read one entertaining a chapter at a time.

Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R3T5IX83S8N7DX Light reading, but very engaging! Entertaining and excellent for busy professionals since you can read it chapter at a time and still enjoy it!