Honda Books

Like many other reviewers, I first read this book and the other Williamsburg novels in my teens. I loved them, and read them repeatedly. That these books are so beloved of teen-age girls forty years ago should give a good idea of what they're like. This one is probably the best, but all are sweet love stories with an interesting historical setting--good plots, memorably noble and heroic characters, and happy endings, both on the personal and historical level. There's little real pain and suffering, no matter how horrible the historic event described was, and few really bad guys. If you want enjoyable, G-rated escape, these are your books.

Dawn's Early Light, the first book in the Elswyth Thane Williamsburg series, is a delightful read with memorable characters and an accurate rendering of Williamsburg's Colonial days leading up to and through the Revolution. Here we see the beginnings of two families: the Days and the Spragues as well as the beginning of our nation. From the first moment when Julian Day steps off the boat from England and is met on the wharf by St.John Sprague, Thane's story captured this reader who read it for the first time in the 60's and has just finished reading it again. The characters and their stories, their loves and heartaches in the midst of this tumultuous Revolutionary period have become a part of my own story. What better way to learn history than through the eyes of those who lived it. Kudos to Thane for a well-researched account and for the portrayal of flesh and blood characters who captured the heart. It is wonderful book. Enjoy! Ann Westerman

My grandmother passed the Williamsburg novels on to me when I was 16. I devoured all of them that summer. I always wanted to read them again, and yesterday on a whim I decided to do just that. It has been 16 years since I last read the series, and I'm enjoying Dawn's Early Light with a new appreciation.

Thanks to the Internet, I now know more about the author. Elswyth Thane (1900-1981, American) was a romance writer in her time. She wrote several books, but the Williamsburg series are her most popular.

I'd say while these novels have a healthy dose of history -- historical characters like Jefferson and Washington interact with our fictional characters in "Dawn's" -- they are first and foremost romance novels. Therefore, female readers might enjoy them more, which seems to be the case from the comments posted here!

This is the beginning book in a series of books called the Williamsburg novels. I have been reading and re-reading this series of 7 books for over 50 years. They are my all time favorite books. Each book deals with a war or pre-war action (except the war of 1812) in which the US has taken part from the Revolutionary War (Dawn's Early Light) to the Civil War (Yankee Stranger) to the Homing with is the last of the series and the 4th book which deals with WWI and WWII and the years in between. They are a great source of history. Ms Thane (widow of the explorer Dr. William Beebe) has done an excellent job of research for each of the books. I hope others find them as wonderful, and as entertaining as I do. I have read my old copies until they are falling apart. I was very excited to find they had been reprinted and purchased them immediately.

The advice is--- don't make the same mistake I did. Upon reading all the glowing reviews, this series of books sounded like just what I love to read--- long,interesting books, interesting characters. So- instead of buying them one at a time, I bought the whole darned Williamsburg Series, plus a few more by the same author, "Queen's Folly", the "Tudor Wench" and "Tryst". What a disappointment. Since this review is about "Dawn's Early Light", I won't mention how boring the other books were, but I've got to say-- "Dawn" was the best of the lot. However, I could hardly bring myself to finish it, but I did. The other books were just as boring--- if all the references to war had been left out, they would have been pamphlets, but much more interesting. Ladies, these are men's books-- unless you like to read of ambushes, guns, dead horses. I think Elswyth Thane had seen "Gone With The Wind" and was trying to emulate it in her work. She failed miserably. I should have bought one book to see her writing style, and I would have saved some cash, because I wouldn't have wasted my money on the rest.

Manual transmissions aren't as sexy as some other engine parts that I could think of (like cams, or turbos), but that doesn't make them boring!

This book covers the little-known and little-described topic of manual transmissions. The writer attacks the subject from the angle of a "weekend warrior" mechanic or car builder, which means it's neither dry and academic nor lowbrow.

Manual transmissions, clutches and even differentials are covered in enough detail to be useful without drowning in theory. Unlike many automotive books it's full of meaty details and tips - the chapter on manual transmission diagnosis alone is worth the cost.

Even if you're not a die-hard stick shifter, it's a fun read and an interesting look at the technology behind a manual transmission. If nothing else, you could read it and impress the guys at your local hot-rod spot with your knowledge of gear oil additives.

Besides, where else can you get all the current thinking on manual transmission modifications in one place?

I just got this book and Have to say that it is one of the best automotive books I have ever read. Most automotive Books are either to Dry and Technical or have very little info. This Book is both easy to read and has a ton of information. I'll be referring to this book any time I have a problem with a manual transmission.

Excellent organization and structure. Lots of information on how manual transmissions work, and how to check and rebuild them. Many excellent color photos to go along with the text.

This book is well written and easy to understand with many pictures. It is a good starting point for anyone considering rebuilding a manual transmission.

The book covers material that is common knowledge for professionals, but that is hard to learn as an amatuer trying to learn on his/her own. Specifically in the areas of dianosis of problems, and explicit function of components.

I recommend this book.

This book really presents the work and theory in a straightforward manner. It explains what you are doing and why, and what happens when something goes wrong. It's easy enough to follow lightly as you work, or to read in depth to really learn something. You can easily pull from it what information you need. I would recommend this book to anyone with a technical background, whether already you know what you are doing or just starting your first project, there is definitely something to gain here.

If you like giant monster movies, and want to know more about how they were made, this book is for you. Not many photos of the monsters (there are other books out there for that) but there are behind the scenes photos. Learn the biographies of the men who made films you still love after all these years. Not much has been published in the West about them, but here it is! Well written and laid out. 2 page essays about certain film makers by noted Western Kaiju lovers. Worth the price, and thankful that it was printed.

This is a wonderful coffee-table size book that contains beautiful photos and interesting commentary. If you are a fan of Godzilla and/or Eiji Tsuburaya this is the book to get!

This book is a meticulous, thoughtful, well-written, and beautifully laid-out tribute to a true master of special effects. It is a fascinating look, not only into Tsuburaya's life and career, but also the way the film industry works in Japan. An interesting read for non-fans; a must-have for fans of the genre.

Phenomenal book. Great quality, design, and content. If you have any remote appreciation for this kind of film making and monster design, this book is an absolute love letter... A must have!

Tsuburaya Eiji was the Japanese special effects director who was behind so many monster movies that came out from Japan during the 1950s and 1960s. This is a pictorial biography of Tsuburaya Eiji that proves to be very well written and informative. I found the book to be rather insightful as the author included inserts written by men who worked with or worked under Tsuburaya Eiji during his career. The book also comes well illustrated with photographs and movie posters on almost every page as it traces the life and time of Tsuburaya Eiji's career. It was interesting to note that during World War II, he made a movie made from miniatures that showed the attack on Pearl Harbor. It was so realistic that during the initial post war period, Americans thought it was the real thing. Tsuburaya Eiji was also the man who made Godzilla what he was and creator of the Ultraman series that is still going on to this day.

Overall, this book is definitely worth your time and money to read over and treasure. Tsuburaya Eiji is one of the great pioneers of motion picture industry regarding special effects and his influence help shape this industry to this day. His influence in the science fiction genre will remains pretty strong as monster movies like Cloverfield still hit our theaters and on DVD to this day. The book strongly reflects the heydays of Japanese monster movie era history and it will remind many of us, the fun and wonder these movies brought us during our younger days. And it will inform otherwise misinformed that there is more to these movies then just a "guy in the monster suit" concept.

(And yes, I am writing the subject's name in Japanese style...sur name first always...Tsuburaya Eiji is the way you would address him if he was still alive today...as you would with any Japanese national.)

I ordered this book to help trouble shoot starting problems I was having with the bike. It gave me very precise instructions, and easy to follow illustrations.

I was able to find and fix the problem in no time. I recommend it if you have this bike.

Shima.

Great packaging, fast shipping, and really was brand new with the correct item sent! Would buy from again!

Top quality routine maintenance and repair manual. The pictures with the text and the step by step format is a home mechanic's "right hand" tech manual.

This is just one of many Clymer manuals I've had over many years. Always top shelf material.

Having a slightly flakey Honda Rebel it became very important to me to be able to find my way around the bike. This manual is extremely informative and extremely accurate. It does detail just about everything you need to know.

However for a relative neophyte such as myself it has some significant deficiencies:
1) The photographs are black and white and quite low contrast, you cannot always quite see what they are pointing at and thus finding it on the bike is tough
2) I think these manuals are designed for a motorcycle repair shop, they often assume too much. 'Quickly check the compression before reseting the timing' is not detailed enough for someone that is proud he found the ignition switch ...
3) They were only half updated for the newer model. The 199x model rebels are different to the older ones but all the differences are contained in a seperate chapter

As I say, I don't think there is anything any better ... but this manual will be a little intimidating for a newbie ...

You can't go wrong getting this manual as a reference whether you intend to do work on your car yourself or just want to know where and what stuff is. I have performed many maintenance tasks on my '89 Civic Wagon 4WD with assistance from this manual such as: drive axle replacement, valve timing adjustment, front and rear brake overhaul, master cylinder replacement, muffler replacement and the list goes on. There are many supplemental topics covered as well regarding general auto maintenance. The weaknesses I found were it covers stuff no one in their right mind will do such as overhaul CV joints. Everyone just buys axles and does a core exchange leaving that to the pros. I needed more photos and better description of the axle removal as well - I searched on the internet and found an excellent photo guide someone did for that. I also supplemented this with the official Honda manual which was supplied with the car but that guide is obtuse and does not have photos, only drawings where the Haynes is down and dirty with real life tear down photos. I highly recommend this if you are actually doing work - even if not, you can use it to learn more about the repair jobs that might be needed so when you speak to mechanics you are better informed about what they will do - or what they say they are going to do.

Haynes repair manuals are great! They are always detailed and have tons of pictures so you know what they are talking about!

this is a very helpful book. lives up to its promise of taking apart the honda civic completely. gives you the confidence and assurance of dealing with the problems of your high mileage honda civic. the book is very well organied too and supported by a very helpful collection of photographs.

This book is well-structured by system (e.g., fuel and exhaust, engine electrical) and features thousands of actual black and white photos from the cars as well as thousands of diagrams. I found the book invaluable when I owned a 1991 Honda Civic CRX; a must-have for Civic owners.

It's good to have books of this sort. It's about time someone instill some sort of work ethic in the Americans. Americans are often dismissed as lazy and unambitious, self-centered, which is not far from the truth. I know, I used to work for Boeing Company in America. This should be required reading for people in American auto industry so they make better car,LOL!

Having managed a Japanese invested company in the USA for 8 years, I was exposed to the strengths and weaknesses of the philosophy of operation, style and processes. It caused me to rethink the validity of the mostly unspoken and unexplained management approaches that cause much frustrations and inefficiencies to American workers. Back in the introductory period of American Karate in 1962, I learned, as an instructor, to explain the reasons behind Karate practice and thought processes, rather than leaving the art vague and mysterious. Americans would do well when all the chips and stones are turned and have clear objectives and rewards for the effort. I decided to write, perhaps for the first time by a Japanese executive, a plainly explained managment book on the system of Japanese companies in the USA. No theories but all practical questions and experiences Americans will be exposed in working for or with Japanese companies. Answers to the questons and different experiences are clearly written to assist Americans to succeed in managing a Japanese company which has been expected but being realized so slowly. EVERYTHING IS EXPLAINABLE AND CAN BE LEARNT!

As an American who has worked two years in Japan and four years in the US for Japanese automotive startups (and married to a beautiful Japanese woman for six years), I was able to relate to this book on a level that a majority of readers cannot comprehend. I was fortunate to have a Japanese President who took me under his wing early in my career and taught me the lessons of "ho-ren-so" and the like. However, working for the Japanese is a challenge still. As an American, reading through the first few chapters of Mr. Honda's book, I found myself becoming somewhat angry at the accusations and arrogance of the Japanese thinking being explained. After stepping back I realized the author was just providing information to help better explain ideas presented in later chapters and his overall point. This book is not so much "Americans are bad or lazy" and "Japanese are superior," it is more or less food for thought. Japanese or American, working with people requires understanding of one another. Often, the most difficult aspect is getting both sides to acknowledge and accept the good points of one another and adopt them to create true synergy. As for the coward from Pottstown, PA, who doesn't even have the courage to give an e-mail address. He totally misunderstood this book (that is if he read it at all). If Americans are so lazy, then why does the world economy depend so heavily on us? Why do Japanese companies continue to invest billions in new US ventures every year? If it were not for us lazy Americans, ignorant fools such as this coward from Pottstown, PA would not have world dominating companies such as Boeing to work for. One more point for the Japanese to understand. A reporter once asked a former football coach of Notre Dame, "Coach, how do you motivate your players?" The coach responded, "I don't motivate them. They come motivated. I try not to de-motivate them." As pointed out in Mr. Honda's book, Americans enter into Japanese companies with childish optimism and enthusiasm. All to quickly is that enthusiasm shattered and the American becomes just another body punching the clock or "lazy". Until Japanese executives (and many American companies) understand this and learn how to harness this energy, they will never understand the true work ethic of the American worker. If going home to spend time with your wife, children, community volunteer organization, church, or night school at the end of an eight hour workday instead of sitting at your desk looking busy but you really don't have anything to do or as the Japanese at two companies I have worked for, sitting in the smoking area for hours at the end of the day just to get face time, if not wasting my precious time like this is considered lazy, then I am guilty. Ask any Japanese Executive on his deathbed if he has any regrets in life. I do not believe his answer would be, "I wish I had spent more time at work." Thank you Mr. Honda.

Mr. Honda takes the mystery out for American managers who want to know what to say and do in order to be successful in Japanese companies. He provides numerous examples and comparisons between the American and Japanese styles of management along with recommendations. A special emphasis on diversity-communications is provided from cover to cover to guide the reader on the perceptions and expectations American and Japanese managers have of each other, and how to improve their working relationship. In summary, Mr. Honda's book is long overdue for American managers who are looking for practical tips and guidelines to have a successful career in Japanese companies.

I would recommend everyone to buy this book, regarding if you are a "Hondafan" or not.

As a recently new Acura NSX owner the more knowledge generated about this exclusive and unique automobile the better. The Acura-Honda NSX Performance Portfolio has been invaluable in better understanding every aspect of the car, its history, concept development, operation, performance, technical aspects, and much more. For every NSX owner or anyone considering the purchase of this one of a kind supercars, this book is a MUST and also great reading for non-NSX owner automobile enthusiasts as well. Truly a 5 Star book of information.

Lots of professional writeups on the Supercar from Japan. Not a fast read as the information is from many different perspectives. Very intersting for the NSX owner or fan.

A fabulous book about a truly special little corner of the world. Purchased this as a gift for my sister and she loved it! Would highly recommend.

I bought this book on a whim while at the San Gregorio General Store, and devoured it before the band finished it's last set. Chock-full of eccentric trivia that beautifully encompasses the spirit of La Honda!
I absolutely loved it!

I could not put this book down. I even set aside Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows to finish it. What a great story! Bob Dougherty is an author to watch!

There is finally a saviour to us millions of owners of single cylinder OHC Honda engines and bikes.

Clymer have produced a book with a wealth of information on every Honda unit (as best I can tell) for the last 35 years. Regardless of wether you want information in regards to general service or for a complete overhaul this will have it.

Wether you have the original manuals or not you will require this book if you wish to do your own service work. Just make sure you check you are reading about the right engine/bike before you do anything.

There is a new editon of this book covering more models and is in print.

If you're a cat lover or just appreciate the most beautiful creature on earth or beyond - that's the book for you. No other photographer has ever captured a more delightful image of felines. It's just impossible to describe this book in words, get it and you'll see

If you're a cat lover, or know one, then this book is a satisfying choice. A small volume, it offers the cat lover the images that they enjoy most in their feline friends. From kittens to adults, this little gem captures cats in a variety of places that they seek for pleasure. A lot of fun!