Ball Books

This was a provocative book when it was first published. Jim Bouton, who had been a star pitcher for the New York Yankees, was trying to mount a comeback by working on a knuckleball in the bullpen of the expansion team Seattle Pilots less than five years later. He was a world away from pitching in two World Series in two successive seasons with players like Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris as team mates.

His fastball could no longer shatter a pane of glass, but his astute observations about professional sports broke many barriers that had existed between the owners, players and the fans. Baseball Commissioner Bowie Kuhn publicly condemned the book.

Bouton was traded to Houston before the season ended. The last place Seattle Pilots faded and died. The team was sold and transferred to Milwaukee after only one year. As such, it is something of a historic artifact of the failed Pilots team as well as a humorous look at the National Pastime.

even now, the contents of "ball four" are as equally as contrary to what you think about the order of things as say the first time you hear that hawaiians aren't happy about being american. what this book has to say about institutions make it as valuable an american document as "on the road".
the only real debate i think that could be made over this assertion is who took more speed; kerouac or bouton?
the answer is kerouac.
leaving only one other question:
who took more speed; kerouac or doc ellis?
i can't answer that question but i can say that beaning batters successively until you get thrown out of a major league baseball game is much cooler than anything kerouac ever did.

Ball Four is a journal of Jim Bouton's days in baseball. It is light hearted and pokes fun at himself and tells it like it was in the 1960's. I recommend it to anyone who is interested in the behind the scenes and what happens in the locker room.

Hubby had knee surgery and was laid up for 3 months.. did alot of reading when he wasn't in physical therapy.... GREAT BOOK

Jim Bouton is a very bright man who probably could have been a scientist if he didn't go into baseball. In the 1960s when he played nobody wrote colorful exposes of the behind the scenes and road trip life of major league ball players. Bouton was the first with this book. It ended many friendships with teammates and probably broke up his marriage. The book might seem tame by todays standard. Alcohol was the players drug in those days and no one was shooting up steroids back then. But the book was racy, groundbreaking and controversial in its time much like Canseco's books are today.

You will also see that it led to several other books by Jim Bouton and even one by his ex wife (another analogy to Canseco whose ex wife also wrote a book). Bouton was a great pitcher but alas for only the period from 1961-1964. 1963 was his best season but even though he pitched well in that world series the Yankees got steamrolled by the Dodger staff with Drysdale and Koufax leading the way. After retirementhe came back to pitch for the Seattle Pilots expansion team in their first year. He had developed a knuckle ball and that allowed him some limited success. Bulldog Jim wrote a book about that experience too. He had a trick when he pitched for the Yankees. He wouldd deliberately wear a very loose fitting cap that would usually fall off his head as he delivered the pitch. This was distracting for the hitters. But in his day Bouton had a good fastball and a deceptive changeup and he was part of a great pitching rotation in 1963 that included Ford, Downing and Terry.

Good selection for me. I need it for class. It came promptly and what I could afford. Thank you.

I bought this book because I give massages and find it a very helpful guide in therapeutic massage. I refer to it all the time for more than massage-- understanding injuries and health conditions in general. A must for the curious.http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0805350861/ref=cm_cr_rev_prod_title

I use this book as a study guide, and I make copies of the pages and then I work on the worksheets instead of in the book. This way I can refer back to the book as a study guide later on in my studies and keep making study sheets. It is actually perfect for me. Some of the pages I wish were not so detailed in the coloring, and you can get lost trying to stay inside the lines, but for the most part it is easy to understand.

SHIPMENT WAS DELAYED A BIT, BUT WITHIN PROMISED TIME. MY ONLY ISSUE IS THE PACKING. A ONE INCH THICK BOOK AND MUSIC CD WERE SHIPPED IN A 4" BOX.
BOX WAS CAVED IN LIKE IT WAS STEPPED ON. CONTENTS OK. I WISH IT WAS SENT REGULAR MAIL IN A THINNER BOX. SINCE I LIVE IN AN APARTMENT THAT WON'T SIGN FOR PACKAGES DUE TO A LAWSUIT FROM ANOTHER TENANT--I HAVE HUGE HASSLES WITH UPS! THEIR POLICY AT UPS IS THAT ALL PACKAGES MUST BE SIGNED FOR. I HAVE TO GET MISSED DELIVERY NOTICE TO KNOW WHEN IT'S IN TOWN(PACKAGE FROM AMAZON) THEN LEAVE SCHOOL EARLY AND WAIT FOR RE-DEIVERY. THIS IS A MAJOR HASSLE--I AM BACK TO SCHOOL FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 25 YEARS. I CAN'T AFFORD TO MISS CLASS FOR AN AMAZON PACKAGE. I WON'T ORDER ANYTHING ANYMORE FROM AMAZON REQUIRING UPS SHIPMENT BECAUSE OF THE UNNECCESSARY HASSLES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I love the idea of this book, but the writing is so small and compressed that I find it very difficult to work with, even with glasses!

I ordered this cookbook becuse I wanted to add some southern food to my collection, after receiving this cookbook I read it from cover to cover. and recepies are simple and delicious! Paula Dean has been through rough times but she keeps on cooking! What an inspiring personality! and her recepies are fantastic too. Order this book and you wont be disapointed!The Lady & Sons Savannah Country Cookbook

This is a great little book with some very good Southern Recipes. If you like Paula Deen you will like this book. My only dissapointment was no pictures. Am a very visual person and would have enjoyed seeing end results on paper. Most recipes are just plain ole' down home which I enjoyed.

The only reason I don't give this five stars is for lack of pictures (I know, I know, but what can I say? I like a visual and there's not a single photo in the whole book). I made a dutch oven dish that was wonderful. Absolutely one of the best dishes I've had. Paula Deen isn't for everyone though. She's very country, which means she uses a lot of cream, butter, etc, etc. She's not afraid of going over the top, so discretion is advised. However, she is accurate in saying that butter makes everything better and these recipes are no exception! Also, this isn't 'thirty minute meals' by any stretch of the imagination, so if you're looking for something quick you might check elsewhere, but if you have a little bit of time these are some good old fashioned recipes.

I am a big fan of Paula Deen's show and decided to get this book after trying some of her recipes. The recipes in the book are easy to follow, and are full of wonderful flavors and textures. A word of warning, the recipes are not for those who are on any type of strict diet. She even mentions in the forward that these are recipes that are not meant to be made with a bunch of "low cal" or "diet" substitutions. They are just good, easy comfort foods meant to be enjoyed and remembered. This is not the type of cookbook that I would use every night of the week, just because the recipes do tend to be a bit more heavy in fats and sugars, etc. I think to enjoy this book you need to have the attitude that this type of food is great once in a while, and when you cook a recipe from it, make it the way she tells you! Just decide to have some good ol' comfort food and do it in moderation. So far there has not been one recipe that my family has not enjoyed- they are all good. A nice addition to my cookbook collection. Enjoy!

How does one take skill such as Paula's and put it in a book? Oh, shucks, I'm starting to sound like our reporters who cannot report a story without asking a question. Forgive me. Paula has done it again. Her cookbooks have become a family favorite set of the absolute best and quite easy recipes. Being from the south is not a requisite. It is only a place where some of the best foods come from.

A great little book on a woman we never heard much about. I've always wondered about her personal life - WOW - more painful than I imagined. Wish she got her Hollywood Star before she died. She worked really hard only to be a second banana, but we loved her, and boy - was she good!!!

I loved this book. I've read several books on Lucille Ball and this was a very cool opportunity to read about her famous sidekick. I have to say, I have a whole new view on Ethel now!

Book was in very good shape. I would buy another book from this vendor. The only thing I had trouble with was that it took a little longer then I expected to receive in mail.

When I ran across a softback edition of this book, I was floored. I had no idea a book had been written about Vivian Vance. Where had I been? I bought it thinking ,well, it'll be superficial at best. Boy, was I wrong. This is an excellent, in depth and very revealing life story of one of television's best loved ladies. Alvin Walker and Frank Castelluccio have written one of the best biographies on a legend I've ever read. And Vivian Vance is a legend, if an often overlooked one. From her humble showbiz beginnings, to a Broadway career, to her fateful reading with Lucille Ball for the part of Ethel Mertz---I could not put this book down. Vivian Vance came to life on those pages and I learned that there's a lot more to a "second banana" than just the character they play. Vance never escaped her role as Ethel, but she lived a full and complete life worthy of this book and was a more accomplished actress than given credit for. Her years of baffling mental problems, the estrangement with her mother, her extensive stage work, her often rocky relationship with Lucille Ball (not to overlook William Frawley) are all here as well as the huge amount of humanitarian work she did for mental health later in life. This is a highly recommended read for anyone who loved watching Ethel as well as Lucy. It reveals the fascinating woman behind the "mask" of Ethel Mertz, a landmark television icon and an American showbiz legend known as Vivian Vance.

Glad I got a chance to check this book out...it was very interesting as I'd heard about some of the tiffs between them but never really got into it. While I am sure a few different takes on her life/their lives could also fill in the missing pieces..its a good read and provides the rest of the story to the generally heroic and sweentened up picture often given about Ms. Ball and the whole show in general. They were all each and as a group irreplacable and perhaps may have never really understood their "fate" or "destiny" in the place of American life at the time. What a wonderfully talented, funny, and brillant pair and team of actress/actors they were. While all was not well on the show or in that era as with any...to this day they can make you laugh your head off without the crudeness so many comdieans and shows resort to today. The effort and work put into such show outdoes shows today by far. They were great at what they did for the time that they did it. It was also very sobering to read a human real or truer side to them as the pollyannaness of television lives can sometimes rub off on the viewers. Reading it though I could not help feel a sort of sadness ; Ms. Vance..never really being happy. Perhaps its just the way it was told or written. I would like to read other books about her/them to get a more indepth idea. In any case..I recommend taking a spin with this book.

I loved reading the screenplay just as much as I enjoyed watching the film. I'm interested in screenwriting myself and bought the screenplay as a guide to my own screenwriting -- what to do and what not to do, and especially how to format shots of a person videotaping as is done throughout this piece. Excellent teaching tool!

I loved the film, American Beauty. It is, quite simply, my favorite movie of all time! This screenplay is just as captivating as the movie... Because, in many ways, it is the movie! Alan Ball's script is really what made American Beauty the film that made jaded American moviegoers stand up and say "Thank you!" We can only hope that future filmmakers are taking note... Simply put, it is destined to become a treasured piece of modern Americana. :-)

If you didn't like the movie as you watched it, then you'll gonna love it after you read this script!

If you have seen the movie, and were deeply touched by it, as seems inevitable, owning this screenplay is definitely worthwhile. Without having to put on the DVD, you can relive particular moments by just leafing through the pages. Alan Ball's script won multiple awards, and rightly so: it is a masterpiece of dramatic writing, merging the comical, the tragic and the spiritual in ways rarely seen in present day (American) film.
Yet this book isn't all it could, and in my view should, have been. It really offers very little besides the literal text of the final movie version (including some of Annette Bening's and Kevin Spacey's improvisations). Other film scripts I own include in-depth information about genesis, casting, production etc., loads of good still and behind-the-scenes photography, as well as discarded scenes and earlier versions of scenes. None of that here, even though several parts of the film were drastically altered during the filming. There is a 2-page intro by Mendes that adds nothing to the information contained on the DVD, if you own that; and the same goes for the even shorter afterword by Ball (who, on the DVD commentary track, isn't able to get a word in edgewise with Mendes, and so remains something of an enigma). Then there are a few grainy black and white stills that are an insult to the brilliant cinematography of the movie - and that's it. For makers of a film so ostentatiously concerned with the relativity of material things, it does seem like a rather cheap way to squeeze some extra bucks from it...

Today is the first day of the rest of your life?

Yes.The amazing capability that we have to surprise ourselves and the surrounding life makes you to take control of every moment that you live. Live larger.

Lester has this capability. He never died . He just smiled. before taking a pause.

AMAZING BEAUTY. That's what I can write about this movie and the writer.

At first I found the dialogue relatably irreverent, then the constant ridicule of everything got repetitive and I would have liked to see a bit of positivity, then the ending reveals the main character's sense of humour as a defensive front.
So I guess the writing starts out like a more clued-in Kevin Smith, then pushes into nihilism, and ends up conservatively pop-psychological. There's a strong sense of creativity in there and an unusually informed outside perspective on counter-culture but the serious side of the writing seems to undermine it.

Clowes has managed to perfectly portrait the development of a teenage friendship and how it is affected by the transition of the main characters into adulthood. In this boom era of comics I seldom find works that touch upon a subject that most of us can relate to. It also has in my opinion a perfect and realistic ending. I would definitely recommend it.

This is the affectedly vulgar tale of two young women who need some discipline. Those who feel they have the credentials to declare other human beings "ugly" will probably see themselves in the main characters and find them hilarious. For those who have grown up, the shtick will wear thin quickly. The art is beautiful and the writing definitely has its moments, but I guess I just can remember actually being a stupid jerk when I was younger and don't look back on those days with much fondness.

I found "Ghost World" mentioned in an article listing
"top 10 books" for various people. Being no stranger to
graphic art books (aka "comics" :), I thought I'd try it.
I regret that the person recommending it apparently hadn't
read many books. The story failed to capture my interest, and the art didn't redeem it. I'd recommend anything by Will Eisner instead (e.g., A Contract With God).

I skipped the movie version of Ghost World when it came out because I could tell from the previews that it wasn't my cup of tea; stories of suburban angst make my skin crawl (ie: I hated American Beauty), suburban teenage angst even more so. But, I convinced myself a while back, there's no way I could NOT read the critically acclaimed graphic novel it was based on, right?

Best friends Enid and Rebecca are two unappealingly self-absorbed teenagers who project their own self-loathing onto everyone around them, stumbling through their final year of high school while slowly drifting apart from each other. Daniel Clowes chooses to tell their story almost too-subtly, offering discordant slice of life vignettes that attempt to illustrate their "growth" but mainly serve to remind the reader how annoying and shallow they are. It falls into the same trap many autobiographical efforts do, in every medium, of believing one's life is more interesting than it actually is, and I came close to putting it down, unfinished, several times.

Clowes' artwork is the main highlight here -- clean and, at times, unexpectedly emotive -- but it's neither enough to inject life into his dull, plodding story nor make his lead characters the least bit interesting. Charles Burns' Black Hole covers similar ground in a much more intriguing fashion, with a compelling story that is equal to his impressive artwork.

Ghost World: Don't believe the hype.

I have a passionate interest in History and have read innumerable books on the History of different regions and Ages. I think this is one of the best books on Historical Fiction I have read so far. Everything about the book...the story,the writing style is interesting to say the least. I felt I lived with the characters in the story. Eagerly waiting for your next book Mr. Ball.

David Ball's book is excellent and I only wish I could find more of his writing. I did a search and this is the only book I found.

The tale of the two boys in France is told with aplomb and delight as they explore the area outside Paris before the Prussian invasion. Mr. Ball's development of the characters is first rate and his vivid descriptions of life in the time period are first rate. I especially enjoyed his descriptions of the desert in North Africa and the system of honor and caste amongst the tribes.

I can only wonder how good more work from Mr. Ball would be. Any one know anything else about his writing?

Tyler S Ferguson Author of Apocrypha

I felt obligated to read this book because David Ball is my neighbor and I sometimes babysit for his daughter, Li. However, I have absolutely no regrets, and will openly state that I enjoyed Empires of Sand more than The Da Vinci Code or Angels and Demons.

Please do not think that I am unknowing or naive about how good this novel was just because I am only 14. I skipped the first grade because when I was in Kindergarten, my reading level was that of a fourth grader. I have recently read Angels and Demons, The Da Vinci Code, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, Romeo and Juliet, Twelfth Night and Anna Karenina. Empires of Sand was my favorite of all of them.

The book is a fast-paced, adventurous mystery with history all rolled in. It begins in France with two cousins, Paul and Moussa, being attacked by a wild boar. The event is shown through the eyes of a bishop, a mother, the boar, each of the boys and others as well. The entire novel switches back and forth between perspectives, giving the reader a more general understanding. From Paris in 1860-70 to the Sahara in 1880, Empires of Sand explores the personal events of Paul and Moussa deVries during the war between Prussia and France. It also takes a very detailed view of battles between Saharan tribes like the Shamba and Tuareg and troops of France.

Overall, Empires of Sand is a terrific book for anyone interested about France in the mid to late 1800's, or about the Sahara Desert. Even if you are not into history, the book is so in depth and personal that readers of every kind will enjoy it!

I cannot say much more that other reviewers haven't said already. I was surprised about how good this book was. Hard to believe it was Ball's first novel. An interesting mix of historical fiction and rip-roaring adventure; informative and very well researched and written.

Once you get into it you will not put it down.

David Ball has been one of my favorite historical fiction writer after I read his novel: The Sword and the Scimitar / Ironfire (same novel, different titles written after Empires of Sand).

In Empires of Sand, David Ball also exploited his research and previous personal experiences passing through the Sahara. Frankly speaking, I was somewhat disappointed in the initial part of this novel since it had many resemblances on his later novel. The way characters were aligned and plotted looked familiar. But this effect only lingered awhile for the remaining 95% of this novel is superbly written with two main backgrounds, one being in Paris and the other in the Saharan desert in the late 1800s at the height of the Prussian superpower in Europe.

A profound job in the writer's researches were evident from the way he described the way people lived in France and Sahara during those pre World War I periods. Their customs, the way horses, camels and balloons were handled were superbly written. FYI: the French invented the hot air balloon.

A must read five-star historical novel. Waiting for David Ball to write another historical novel...

I was directed to use "A Writer's Reference" beginning with the second addition. When I could choose texts for my classes, I voluntarily chose this very text, which I use for pre-freshman composition, freshman critical thinking/composition, literature/advanced composition, and critical thinking/advanced composition. The sixth edition is better than ever. Furthermore, it is the one book I tell my students to never sell back as I firmly believe it will take care of students' writing needs through their bachelors and beyond.
Lin Fraser, Sacramento City College

This book and the disc that come with it are an excellent resource for the high school and college student. The book covers several documenting (source citation) methods (MLA, APA and CMS) for writing essays and papers. This book has all the basics from writing a thesis to grammer. There is also a website that provides more help and practice problems. It comes with tabbed sections to make content very easy to locate quickly. Excellent, excellent book!

Book did arrive on time and in good condition. I was very satisfied and will deal with this sellar again.

this is a must have in todays fast paced world of education and doing it right the first time.

I regularly use this book in my work and have bought several copies for others -- it's easy to use (will lay flat due to spiral binding), well-organized and an easy read.

It's nice to read the viewpoints of different authors. I never tire of reading how intelligent people view religion. I do, however, tire of dogmatic imbeciles like Rush Limbaugh, Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson etc. who blather on about "what the bible says." Maybe that should read those books someday and understand that no civilized society should look to them as anything more than literary entertainment.

It sometimes takes courage and conviction to do your own thinking, especially about matters religious, and the selections here present thought and arguments through the ages about unbelief and imaginary friends, about the cruelties forced upon others by people who think that they will gain a diety's favor by murdering or torturing others. All believers are enablers. Nice people, huh? These murderers and torturers are the believers, not the unbelievers. Believers also try to make unbelievers uncomfortable. I for one will no longer tolerate that.
The burden of proof is always upon the believer. "Faith" is no argument. It's a belief not based on fact. Children believe things on faith. Not thinking, responsible adults.
My copy of this book is by now dog-eared and highlighted. Some authors are better than others and some are easier to read, but I feel I am in good company with these authors for all they have learned in life and for their ability to think for themselves. For their courage and conviction I salute all who have gone before and fought their oppressors. Their path was harder than mine.
I don't need to believe in an ego induced afterlife. Fear of death is the motivator for religion, nothing more, nothing less. The ego, over and over and over again.
Buy this book and let it be your friend. Let it rid you of guilt and free you of your imagined sins against an imagined "lord" and jealous "god." Enjoy the only life you ever will have. On death you will be in the same "place" you were "at" before you were born.

Being a fan of Christopher Hitchens, Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, Daniel Dennet, and other authors/thinkers pertaining to this "genre", I have no choice but to offer Kudos. There are many views from various characters throughout world history to our present time included in this compilation of quotes, notations, and essays etc.etc. This book should be included in any collection of voices representing freethought and even as a reference for any research along these same lines.
Thank You, Don Ward

Monsieur Christopher Hitchens has performed a necessary intellectual work of mercy. Once humankind desists from its vulgar notion of deity, it can begin the tiresome duties of keeping as much of us as possible alive.

Since we are competently trained in ancient Semitic and Ind-European languages and theoretical mathematics, we twin brothers know who has been doing the heavy lifting of keeping humanity alive and prosperous. It certainly is not the dolts in political, religious or military systems (they who live off the backs of the common people).

Mr. Hitchens has given us fresh fruit from the tree of 'real' knowledge to advance the survivability of our species. Professor Dawkins and to-be Dr. Sam Harris (neuro-science technical background) have enriched the soil of these trees in the enclosed orchard of learning.

If we presently do not get beyond this vulgar Bronze Age duplicity of rulership and priestcraft, we will be doomed to extinction as a species in our niche biosphere, or filmy skin of Earth!

The fools in religion merely have to adduce one rare, slender piece of evidence for the existence of deity. Perchance, our archeologists will find the finger of Yahweh on Mt. Sinai who impertinently gave us the incompetent Ten Commandments (Do not read in Egyptian Hieroglyphics the Book of the Dead for the 'real' 42 commandments---from whence the Hebrews shamefully and slavishly stole!) to bolster their puny claims.

Right ideas for the right time!


Respectfully,


John E.D.P. Malin,
Chairman of the Board & Chief Executive Officer
James F.D.P. Malin,
Vice Chairman of the Board & Chief Research & Development Officer
Informatica Corporation [A.D. 1984-2008]
Executive Division
P.O. Drawer 460
Cecilia, Louisiana 70521-0460

"Fathers of the Silicon Bayou"

Contact Information: InformaticaMalin@gmail.com

P.S. Master the higher mathematics of Algebraic Geometry, it is the genuine and authentic language of global human survival; presently, it is the mathematics adduced by our structured and unstructured data systems running our economic business structures or organizations.

--

This book is a nice collection of essays, letters and excerpts from other writings from a number of different non-believing and freethinking authors throughout history.

The introduction by Hitchens does a nice (and poignant as always) job at framing the chronologically arranged collection of pieces. Along with contemporary writers such as Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, Daniel Dennet and Salman Rushdie, other 'jewels' are collected from times past: from Benedict de Spinoza and Thomas Hobbes, to H.P. Lovecraft, Albert Einstein, Mark Twain, George Orwell and many more.

Most of the segments are accessible reads. Some offer interesting insight, like Thomas Hobbes and Bertrand Russell. Some show the sharpest wit, such as Mark Twain and George Eliot, and a couple (in my opinion) were on the boring side, most notably Karl Marx's introduction to Hegel's Critique of Pure Reason.

The book closes with Salman Rushdie's remarkable letter to a new-born baby written for the UN-sponsored book, "A Letter to Six Billion People". All in all, a great (and long!) read.

After thoroughly enjoying my first discovery from author Jeanne Ray, Eat Cake, I immediately returned to the library to check out what else she had to offer. I'm pleased to say that I found Step-Ball-Change a delight as well, if not QUITE as enjoyable as Eat Cake (after all, what could beat all that cake?), then nearly so. Again, Ray has taken a family drama and turned into something both relatable and endlessly entertaining. There aren't very many books that can make me laugh out loud, but so far, Jeanne Ray's novels are batting 2:2 in this category. Ray's characters here can seem a bit stereotypical at times--there's Caroline, the mother holding the family together; Tom, the endlessly understanding father; Taffy, Caroline's sister and an impeccable Southern lady; Kay, Tom and Caroline's daughter who seems to be a confused new bride-to-be; and Trey, Kay's finance, a typical privileged rich boy--or is he? As the novel progresses, Ray does a nice job of adding additional layers of complexity to her ensemble cast, so the plot, while comfortable, is never predictable. This was a fun book that would make a great summer read; highly recommended!

This author is hilarious! Couldn't put the book down. Fabulous story whether you are a dance enthusiast or not.

I was looking forward to this book, unfortunately, I was disappointed. 1 dimensional characters and a forced plot made this not a very enjoyable read.

I love this book as well as all her other ones. The characters in this book are so familiar that I feel I have met them before. Caroline is such a strong woman who loves her husband and her life and when challenges come through her sister and children she loves them all through it. Ray has such a talent for writing about everyday life and the ups and downs that go with it in such an entertaining and realistic way. And in the end you always feel uplifted.

The hardcover of "Step Ball Change" aged on my nightstand for several years before I finally got to spend time with Jeanne Ray's very interesting characters. The premise of two competitive sisters who love to dance and come together in a period of great personal change with divorce and children's marriages keeps you turning the pages. Caroline, through whose eyes we experience the story, has an edge, a no-nonsense woman who lives in Raleigh, North Carolina. When picture-perfect sister Taffy comes after a breakup with husband Neddy, the action kicks into full gear. Taffy's dog Stamp is wonderfully portrayed, the kind of dog whose yap is as big as his bite. The animal personality is delightfully portrayed, jumping high off the floor for liverwurst. Daughter Kay is torn between marrying the wealthy Trey or the romantically inept D.A. Jack. This is compounded by son George who is an excellent dancer & falls in love with the carpenter's daughter Erica. Two interracial couples find each other with a minimum of fuss. Caroline's husband Tom & Taffy's daughter Holden are excellent supporting characters. Ray uses the analogy of a house whose foundation is buckling to reflect the state of the family. By the end, couples find each other, the house is repaired & expanded, smiles are passed around as the sisters tap dance into the sunrise with "Putting on the Ritz." This is a sweet domestic tale that kept my attention and leaves the reader with a smile on the face. Enjoy!