Vans Books

Nigel Calder's books, although detailed, don't really rub me the right way. Calder tends to analyze boats with everything but a hot tub onboard, and treats HVAC and microwaves like they should be standard issue with a rudder and compass.

Howard, on the other hand, is much more basic and simple with his recommendations, but not nearly as spartan as the Pardey's (who are also excellent authors and sailors). Jim's book is generally the first one I'll read on any given subject, and if I can't get enough detail there, I'll look elsewhere.

But really, this book should be top of the heap for you. The large section on voices in the night speaks for itself, and shows that Howard obviously has many thousands of miles under his keel.

Howard assumes some knowledge of sailing, but you don't have to be an experienced sailor to understand and appreciate this book. It is very well organized and is about as in depth as any *single* book on such a wide subject can be. He isn't afraid to name names when recommending equipment or other books and has a good bibliography and index. If you are at all interested in the *reality* of offshore cruising, buy this book.

Jim's book is very entertaining and easy to read. His advice comes from real-life experience and it is explained in terms that any novice would understand. I recommend this book to anyone considering the cruising lifestyle, especially y you are not loaded with a bottomless cruising kitty. This book is full of practical, common sense advice.

This book seems to be very thorough, well constructed and executed. I've been collecting alot of cruising books over the past few years in anticipation of a round-the-world cruise (someday), and this book not only answers many of the questions I have, but also is a very enjoyable (and effective) read when your dream needs a booster shot. For this reason alone, it has aearned a place of honor on my nightstand, where it has already, and will I am sure, many times more give "the dream" the neccesary "kick".

Great book, easy to read, you do not have to be an expert to read it. A must have for any sailor even if he/she is not a cruiser. Jim Howard deals with all the aspects of cruising under sail with a lot of common sence and safety. If you are a "wannabe" cruiser this book is of great help to organize your dream.

what a terrific read about a young man becoming an adult as he treks from oklahoma to hollywood just after world war II to win a bet made by his uncle. shades of the poingnacy we saw in "lonely are the brave" to be sure, but this book inspires the reader anew as the young man and his horse face complications, danger and exhaustion before their ultimate triumph. there is a wonderful built-in nostalgia given the twilight of the cowboy era depicted here but the story remains both accessible and relevant in today's complex technological world. even with its simplicity of story, you won't be able to put this book down. this is a sure-fire winner; don't miss it!

I couldn't put this book down. The author has an excellent writing style which makes this a page turner. The true-life story of Jerry Van Meter's 1500 mile horse ride to Hollywood in 50 days, to win a bet his Grandfather made with a Hollywood star, captured the heart of this reader. I snuggled in my bed and didn't get up until I finished the book. Patti Dickinson has a fluid writing style, with an exceptional ability to capture the physical, emotional and spiritual essence of a young man's struggle to overcome his secret feelings of inadequacy in a family known for their strong character. He accomplishes this and more on his journey to Hollywood. I would recommend this book to all ages and gender because it just inspires you to walk through your fears, and accomplish your goal, for none other than yourself.

Oklahoma, 1945. Rolla Goodnight and Rolla's best buddy Frank "Pistol Pete" Eaton are arguing with Jimmy Wakely, the Hollywood picture cowboy and Monogram Movie Star. Jimmy says the cowboy way of life is as good as dead.

Rolla and Frank know better. They make a small bet with Jimmy: It used to take three months to drive drive a herd of cattle along the Goodnight-Loving Trail between the Brazos and Denver--about fifteen hundred miles. Hollywood was about the same distance. Why, a good cowboy could make it, on horseback, in fifty days. They volunteer Jerry Van Meter, Rolla's grandson for the job.

Jerry honors his grandfather's bet, mounts Fan, his Osage indian pony and heads for Hollywood-the Hard Way.

With only a compass and map to guide him across rangeland, mountains and desert, young Jerry meets and defeats life-threatening danger from man and beast, the elements, loneliness and hunger, becoming a man in the process.

The author vividly parallels Jerry's journey with the newspaper headlines of the day, carrying the reader back to a time when this nation was on the verge of technology, a time when life was still simple and a man's word was his bond.

A true story. A great read.

Amazing true adventure story; a real page turner!

If your grandfather bet a Hollywood movie star cowboy that you could make a little ride to prove that real cowboys still existed and the ways of the old west were not dead, would you do it? Now imagine that in order to win you had to ride a horse 1500 miles from Oklahoma to Hollywood, CA in 50 days, would you? Oh yeah, and throw in barbwire fences, raging rivers, rattlesnakes, murderous robbers, a gunfight, suspicious police, Apaches, and getting lost in the Mojave Desert. Could you? Well, real life hero Jerry van Meter and his Osage indian pony, Fan, almost died doing it in 1946 as the old west was disappearing under post WWII development. He never profited by his adventure. In fact, his grandfather, cowboy legend Rolla Goodnight, never even told him what he bet!

Jerry was barely 20 years old when he made the ride. He is now 73 years old and lives in Kalispell, Montana. By chance, writer Patti Dickinson heard about Jerry when she stopped for a hamburger one day in Montana. It took her a year to track him down and verify his story. She tells it in a straight-ahead style that makes you feel that you are riding along with Jerry and Fan all the way. Thank you Ms. Dickinson for finding and preserving a fascinating part of our American history.

Dickinson has done a skillful job of bringing twentieth century history alive through the life of an Oklahoma individual whose saga is fascinating. Well-written, I found this book to be a great way to enjoy popular history and learned many things I didn't know about the recent past and the people who moved through it.

Like a fine wine, "How You See Anything" is to be savored ever so slowly. Each story speaks to our values, thoughts, and feelings which reflect evry day living. You need to allow adequate time to assimilate what each lesson is trying to tell us. The authors through their stories remind us we have choices in life, we need to respect ourselves and others, and always allow for the unexpected..........truly how we interpret our world is how we will react to it. Certainly this book of treasures is a wise choice for gift giving to those you find special in your life. I look forward to learning more from reading Volume Two of How You See Anything in the future.

This is a special little book that people of all ages can enjoy and relate to their own life's experiences. This author has done a wonderful job of allowing the reader to experience the laughter, tears and true emotions as they read each very different story within the book. This is the perfect book for any friend or family member for a special occasion or for no occasion at all.

This book is a wonderful collection of heartwarming stories that will inspire you!

This book is full of stories of people whose experiences recalled similar learning times of my own. I found myself thinking, "Oh, I have to share this with Lisa, or Janet, or Lanni." (It is a perfect Christmas present.) The stories were readable and full of meaning. I read the book in one afternoon.

This book is truly a treasure. I smiled inside and out as the Authors tales touched my heart and opened my mind. It's a wonderful read which I recommend highly. I bought several copies today to give as gifts to my family and friends.

To read Van Gogh's letters is to come as close to sitting aside this world class artist as possible. I dare say, he wrote almost as good as he painted--his passion verily jumps off the page.

In this addition, we are treated to an excellent selection of Van Gogh's letters (mainly to his brother Theo) from each seminal period in his extraordinary life. In between the sections, the editor provides us with fascinating details into the travails of Van Gogh's personal life.

Alongside Rilke's Letters to a Young Poet, this collection is essential reading for all artists.

Van Gogh is a tremendously powerful letter- writer. In these letters mostly written to his brother we see a great , suffering , soul, a devoted artist tormented and striving. This may all sound like 'cliche' but Van Gogh is perhaps the most conspicuous example of the cliche of the suffering , rejected in- his- life artist who knows great recognition only after death.
Van Gogh is a person of great intelligence, and of a very strong conscience. There are no greater letters I think ever written by an artist.And while they may be filled with a troubled and agonized spirit they too have a great richness of feeling and appreciation of life.

I bought this book several years ago in a college bookstore. How fortunate these students were to have been able to read and discuss this with others! I have had a long interest in Van Gogh and found this book to be fascinating, an almost voyeuristic look into his short life. I am glad to see that it is available * * and would hope that people now seeing the traveling Van Gogh portraiture exhibit might read it.

De Leeuw has compiled letters covering over 25 years of Van Gogh's life, letters that offer the reader an intimate look into the artist's thoughts and emotions. He writes about his friendships, his family, his attempts at love affairs, his religious beliefs and questions, and most importantly, about his art. These letters reveal him as anything but the anti-social person often portrayed in the past, with the ones about his relationship with his brother Theo being particularly touching.

Van Gogh was a prolific correspondent and an absolutely wonderful writer. His prose is remarkable--he could have been a writer as well as an artist. These letters shed light on the inner thoughts and the inspiration for his art and show him as a person of great passion and compassion.

this collection of van gogh's letters to his brother Theo both captivated me and broke my heart. Such an intimate look into the vulnerability of the artistic soul. Those who appreciate the artistic process will love this collection of letters. You don't need to be an admirer of Van Gogh's to appreciate this; but you will walk away admiring the man behind the sunflowers.

A very fine collection of the letters, with multiple sides of VVG revealed. To read a collection of letters by an artist whose work you know very well is to invite yourself to take a look at him as a person. As a person, I found that I liked him best in these letters when he was struggling with his religion, his art, and his purpose. I'm glad that Roskill didn't make a selection that focused solely on the more famous and theatrical depressions.

I don't agree that this work reveals Van Gogh as a writer. For me, they definitely confirmed his status as a painter. At his best in these letters, he's painting with words.

Which doesn't make it a less interesting read. I found this a good adjunct to taking a look at the work again, it added an extra dimension to experiencing him as a painter.

Well worth the time it takes.

The major distinction of the book from Granger&Terasvirta's earlier work is its focus on financial applications of regime switching (RS) models and the author's strategy of separate treatment of RS of returns(means) and volatilities(variances) by putting them in different chapters. Another wellcome feature is the availability of accompanying procedures in Gauss downloadable from the author's website. I would have expected a lengthier treatment of Markov RS models but I guess either the authors leave this to Tsay's new book or quote Hamilton as classical reference source.

Like his other books, Franses provides an nice applied treatment of non-linear time series models that are in this case applicable to finance. It includes extensive coverage of regime switching models. It includes data drawn from several financial markets including Tokyo, London and Frankfurt.

Like his other books, Franses provides an nice applied treatment of non-linear time series models that are in this case applicable to finance. It includes extensive coverage of regime switching models. It includes data drawn from several financial markets including Tokyo, London and Frankfurt.

Just as in his other books, Franses demonstrates that he is a good communicator. Good structure (follows a logic path), well written and good examples.
Is it a good idea to buy this book? Yes, I would say it is mandatory if you are interested in the subject.
Nevertheless, it misses more indepth treatment of non-linear models (precisely what the book is all about). The authors spent too much time on elaborating a comprehensive chapter on linear models when it was sufficient to cite a few references in case the reader wasn't familiar with the required background.
Some demonstrations and explanations were left uncovered which means that you will have to rely on other sources such as Hamilton (1994) to get the whole picture.
This is not a self-teaching guide but one important source in this field.

The major distinction of the book from Granger&Terasvirta's earlier work is its focus on financial applications of regime switching (RS) models and the author's separate treatment of RS in returns(means) and volatilities(variances) by putting them in different chapters. Another welcome feature is the availability of accompanying procedures in Gauss downloadable from the author's website. I would have expected a lengthier treatment of Markov RS models but I guess either the authors leave this to Tsay's new book or quote Hamilton as classical reference source.

The "timeless" and "insightful" words of St. John Chrysostom in this slim and easily accessible book are inspiring and instructive. Generosity of the rich and gratitude of the poor, war, marriage, hypocrisy of Christians, and even houses and furniture are among the many topics covered--each on less than a page.

St. John Chrysostom is "a man who knows and knows that he knows".

On Living Simply is a wonderful way to introduce yourself to the simple eloquence of St. John Chrysostom. His words illustrate his profound insight into life that is as applicable now as when it was origionally recorded in Late Antiquity. If you are interested in Patristic Christian thought or just in Ancient Wisdom, I highly recommend this book to you.

This is an excellent book for those with little time or who love "snippits". Each page has a title and an outtake from one of St. John's many homilies. Due to its concise nature, this book has been edited and paraphrased by the author (whom isn't an Orthodox Christian if that matters to you)... It is unknown, but hopped, that he kept most, if not all, of the original words and intent... Anyway, this is worth reading and carries some very pertinent advice on "Living Simply".

Saint John Chrysostom was an early "corrector" of the Christian faith, in the same manner of Saint Francis of Asissi, but much earlier. He saw the "faith" getting "off-track" and used his considerable speaking and writing talents to attempt to get the church "back on-track".

The author has skillfully and faithfully condensed St. Chrysostom's volumous work into a short and meditative book. This book is for Christians and non-Christians in that the thoughts expressed are universal.

St. Chrysostom's faith and phylosophy from the 5th century are amazingly applicable and edifying to today's world.

This is a collection of the writings and sermons of one of the early fathers of the ancient Christian Church. It emphasizes basic Christian beliefs and practices in an often surprising and insightful way needed to navigate todays world.

His writings on marriage, family and social discourse are almost frighteningly applicable to the 21st century. I have passed this book on to priests, monks and others who simply cannot be without it. I have had lay people thank me for the priceless insights into one of the Church's great minds of the 3rd and 4th century.

People try to put him d-down
(talkin bout my inspiration)
Just because he monkeys around
(talkin bout my inspiration)
Things he draw look awful c-c-cold
(talkin bout my inspiration)
hope he's still drawing when we're both old
(talkin bout my inspiration)...

This book sits front in center on the coffee table in the living room. It's great to watch peoples expressions as they flip through the pages. Love it...

If you want insight into a creative mind, this is your book. Here is an individual who has a unique vision that will not abide by convention and that is refreshing. Get ready for creative, erotic, organic and always refreshing work that does not abide by the mainstream. The mind of Nate is a refreshing one with longevity, creativity and originality. Get your own copy for inspiration.

a great little book with lots of the works by N8 Van Dyke (cheap also). Not for everyone taste I reckon..... hate it or love it. Personally I love it. The legends of the plates are hilarious, this guy is seriously crazy!

I was pretty surpised by Plan A. Mostly because I was expecting a gentle romp through the delightful mind of a wonderful artist. Unfortunately I hadn't prepared myself to be dragged roughshod over 23 miles of glass, nails and artistic insanity. After I regained my breath, and covered myself with bandaids six inches deep, I went for a drink. Then I had another one. And another one. Then I went back and read it again. I'm not saying that you'll need therapy after reading it. But it's probably good to make friends with a professional... Mostly because after awhile you'll start to think... "If this is Plan A, when can I expect Plan B-Z to come out? When, I ask you, WHEN???" I'm paying 150 bucks an hour and all my shrink will tell me is "Someday..." Grrrrrrrrrrrr... I'll never heal... and I don't mind a bit.

William has re-written Quietus and is working to adapt it for screenplay. The original version had a swastica and candelabra on the cover; the re-written version has a skull and roses. Although the story remains the same, the way in which he now tells it grabs you right from the start and engages you all the way through. Definitely worth the read...hope to see it on the big screen soon!

I read this book in 3 days and I loved it! It is VERY well witten and kept me up every night reading it. Everyone I know who has read this book thoroughly enjoyed it and recommended it to others. I can't wait to read another book by William Van Poyck!

After reading this book, I would love to see it as a movie, where it would reach millions. It is so thought-provoking, and so well written that I recommend it to anyone who loves a great book that's hard to put down. The character is as complex as the storyline and has an unexpected but great ending. I cried through many parts but at the end my tears were of sadness and joy. Don't miss this one!

Quietus broke my heart. William Van Poyck has the makings of a genius which shows through in his story, though it lacks the refinement of someone who has spent his life training as a writer. It is good read for those who are not disturbed by the violent nature of the story. A story that has evolved from childhood abuse and abuse at the hands of the system that condemned him to a life in prison since the age of 17. At 17 Van Poyck was imprisoned for life for armed robbery in which no one was physically harmed. Van Poyck is a natural writer; I only wish the "system" had done right by him when he was a young teen. How sad to lose such a wonderful person and incredible intellect to a system that tries tro destry the good in young people.

I read this book in two days...8 hours of pure entertainment! It was so enjoyable and spellbinding that I only put it down to sleep. The storyline was very captivating and I have to say made me jealous that I am not as good of a storyteller as William Van Poyck. I recommend it to anyone who would like a very entertaining story.

Familiar with Van Booy's lyrical prose, I cannot help but experience the same kind of luxurious language while reading this collection. In the story, The Still But Falling World, set in a small village south of Rome, the lives of the inhabitants achieve a balance between the world of lies and a world of acceptance. Nuggets of truth are found too: "My entire family and her husband and children are living the most beautiful lie." The ability to do this, Van Booy writes, stems from love. "In Morano, if you're loved, everything else falls away." There is a wisdom and vulnerability to such writing. I am reminded of Fernando Pessoa's recognition that we make use of lies and fiction to promote understanding among ourselves, something that the truth alone could never accomplish. (Paraphrased from The Book of Disquiet, Penguin Classics.)

Reading Van Booy is like loving a melting snowflake in your palm. The transitory nature of life lies beneath the surface of each piece. Its stories are very much like fables you want to carry around with you. In Everything is a Beautiful Trick the story of Magda, an adopted sister from Krakow, whose left arm is missing at her elbow, the reader is taken into the memories of her brother, reminiscing about her death he only imagines. "Memories spill out through a cracked window, melt into the ground between tall grass, and are pushed back up as wildflowers." This idea that we each have our own versions of the truth makes for a very colorful world, as one experience can lead to a myriad of flowers pushing up later. This collection is full of such gems. I feel a quality of Taoist flow and Buddhist acceptance from this voice, but a voice qualified to move beyond mere acquiescence. Simon VanBooy writes like a master, there are not many others creating works like these today whereby reality is redefined to include imagination. It is the eye/ear/heart of a poet at work here.

There are 18 stories included in this collection, several of which were previously published by Bookman Press in 2002 in a limited run called Love and the Five Senses.
Every piece is distinct from the next, but present is a voice the reader will not forget. There is a thread connecting this author to the above mentioned Passoa, and when I read Some Bloom in Darkness, I return to Colette and am reminded "...we can catch and hold--with words..." as VanBooy does so brilliantly for us. In The World Laughs in Flowers, and The Reappearance of Strawberries, both two very beautiful titles so well selected, the theme of memory underlies. "My memories are arranged like puddles--they are littered throughout the present moment. It seems arbitrary, that which the mind remembers, but I know it is not." This line appears early in the first story, long before the character arrives in Greece to hopefully re-ignite a love before it is too late. In The Reappearance..." a story full of longing and human endurance, we read "without memory...man would be invincible." This polarization of elation and suffering is what makes the stories believable; it is what makes this collection profound. There is nothing formulaic or too full of itself. It is balanced and quiet sometimes, and at others, it can be over the top pure poetry, lyrical and enlightened.

It's been a very long time since I've stumbled across a book as lovely as this one. I'm usually not one for short stories but I read an excellent review of Secret Lives elsewhere and I decided to take a chance.

The stories are easily manageable, some as short as a few pages. As I was reading them, I was struck by how perfect they each were in length; sometimes collections of short stories leave a reader dangling or the story drags out too long, but Simon Van Booy gives us extremely polished clips of lives in just exactly the right amount of writing. He's succint without being stingy and the stories flow very well.

The stories peeled away the husks from the characters' souls or their private lives, exposing them to the reader in such a poignant way that I was touched by every individual story in one way or another. The writing catches those beautiful and universal glimmers of truth and beauty--be they sad, painful, or ultimately hopeful--and wraps them up in the pages of this book.

I'm planning on giving this out as gifts to friends and family. I enjoyed this book immensely and I highly recommend you give this collection a try--it is a wonderful read you'll come back to over and over through the years.

i really enjoyed this book for a number of reasons.
1) its a quick read, but you just keep reading the same lines over and over sometimes. (I keep this one close so I can grab it often.)
van booy just has a way with words, and especially metaphors.
ex: "It was possible to be alive and not exist at the very same moment".
2) so beautiful in its ability to capture the whole spectrum of human emotions - sad, happy, humored, angry, confused, overwhlemed, attracted, sympathetic, everything! and even though every chapter is a completly new story, you feel so drawn in that you feel all of it, too. i cried, laughed, and got mad - the people on the subways in new york would have thought i was crazy if not for their immunity to bizare circumstances.
3) He has a very unique way of viewing the world, and your completly sucked into that.
4) I'm a literature and philosophy junkie (and student) and I found so many interesting links and alluions to other texts/ideas. so if you're like me, this is a very rich and dynamic novel. however, you don't have to see these things in it to enjoy it. in fact, i think its siplicity is perhaps the best part.

please read, you won't regret!

With such a provocative title, you know this book won't disappoint, even though the absolutely accurate name refers to different scenarios than you might imagine. There are so many ways to love and grieve and live completely wrapped in isolation, even in the bustling city. Van Booy thinks of just about all of them and then some in these short stories. He spins sad, hopeful tales in gossamer threads that wind themselves around you until one or two well-placed words in the final sentence bring the whole piece crashing down in brilliant, unexpected ways. These stories mean the most when you feel a bit sad or isolated yourself, perhaps because they shine the light of hope where it needs to go, reminding us that we are all connected by love and our interpretations of living through it. Not to be missed.

This is a well-written, thoughtful book, full of engaging characters who triumph over life's adversities and share their wisdom with the reader. Van Booy is a master of metaphor--you will find yourself backtracking just to re-experience his images! Few new writers these days create beautiful, literary prose, so this is an author (and book) to cherish and share with others! BUY THIS BOOK and your faith in the publishing industry shall be renewed!

i really love this book a lot. I read it only one day because i liked it so much. i love that is about real issues and about a kid around my age. But it's also amazing only 17 being on top of the drug game! now that's hard to find in real life. but i like that it's so realistic to make you feel that you're really there, and you're always hanging back on the last sentence to see what happens next. It's a book you don't ever want to put down. The author says this is her 1st novel, so i'm looking forward for more books to come from her.

I thought that this book was outstanding because of the honesty it had. I enjoyed reading about real life things and something that I could relate to because of the boy's age.

"Street Pharm" is an excellent novel,especially for teenage males.It's
the gritty,powerful story of a young and very successful drug dealer who
decides to change his life.The book is violent and raw,but brilliantly
written with fully developed characters.It is an astonishing debut by
a talented new author.I can't wait to see what she does next!

Ty Johnson knows how to survive in the real world, to take care of problems on the spot. He has everything in control and knows the way to run things. He's intelligent, patient, and skillful, everything he needs when he inherited his father's business. Everything is running smoothly for Ty and that's the way he wants it.

But then a series of struggles and obstacles ruins the way Ty does things. Not only does he have to take care of a competitor who wants to run him out of business, but he has to deal with school, the only thing his mother wants him to focus on. That could be especially difficult when a girl like none other, Alyse, enters his life and makes him feel happy for once. The hardest part is trying to hide from his mother, and almost everyone new he meets, that he is involved in dealing drugs, the business that Ty's mother hoped to forget after Ty's father went to prison for it.

Ty starts to question every action he does, from the moment he entered the business. With so many problems to handle, can Ty get through it all?

Allison van Diepen takes on a risky plot that so many teens have heard about, but never knew much about, and pulls the reader in. STREET PHARM is a true coming-of-age story that causes the reader to be at the edge of their seat, quickly turning pages, and in the end wanting more. A quick, fast-paced read that is necessary for all teens to read.

Reviewed by: Randstostipher "tallnlankyrn" Nguyen

I am adult who enjoys reading good teen lit and this book qualifies. While I did not really care for Ty in the beginning of the book, you can slowly see his progression into "the real world" and it is a joy to go through it with him.

I also liked the honest look at the street life and the fact that the author did not make it sound like a romantic thing.

The writing is good and the storyline goes at a steady stream. I would be interested in reading a second book in this series to find out how Ty and Alyse make on and how Ty deasl with his father.

The only thing that would have made this book better would have been if it had been a true story.

This is an enjoyable read.