Burns Books

I was amazed at how interesting this book was. I used it for a class I was taking, and I had many preconceived notions that I would not like the class. I was very surprised that everything was so interesting. The author has gathered all of the latest information that was available during the publication of the book, and intergrates the ideas and concepts very well. The book gives you information that a normal person of the "general public" would not have known. I found that every chapter had something to learn that benefited me and that everything in this book applied to me as an American. Great text for my online class; I'm glad we used this book.

I'm reading this book in Chinese,I love it! Our teachers never told me about it, they just teached us what is 'right'.

Excellent intro to politics text. I highly recommend it for a classroom or for anyone really who wants to sit down with a plain-spoken piece to get you to understand our government. Whether it is for someone with little knowledge as to who this vast bureaucracy works, or for someone with a fairly good knowledge of it all - I don't think it will disappoint.
I think what I appreciated the most was the honesty that the text was written. The authors also included a good amount of humor to emphasize the point (in cartoon, comic, Top 10 List, etc), in order to keep a reader interested.
I think this text is also a good reference as well, as there are numerous court cases and explicit examples of gov't at work - that if you are ever at a loss for "what was it that happened?" or "what does that term mean?" Things are extremely easy to find and be referred to.
Good works.

Even though the graphics in the beginning leave something to be desired and could easily be updated, this is my favorite beginning drum book. For one thing, it contains the 'rudiments,' which I find an important part of the learning process. The rhythmic concepts and technical aspects (flams, drags, etc) are introduced in a logical order that the student can easily grasp.

I've taught percussion now for about 15 years, and this book teaches all the important rhythmic concepts within about 11 pages. It will definitely give a beginning student a sense of accomplishment, and will keep them interested, which is the most important thing! It also has a list of all 26 major rudiments and has plenty of useful exercises.

I teach percussion privately, and I require all my beginning students to buy a copy of this book. It introduces the new percussionists to time signatures, rudiments, sticking methods, and playing auxiliary percussion instruments. It is a simple yet effective way to get started in percussion, and is a lot more interesting to play than _Stick Control_!

The book Fire on the Wind by Linda Crew is a great book and very hard to put down. It has many thrilling and gripping scenes. No one could have written better historical-fiction about the real Tillamook Burn in Oregon in 1933 that burned over 200 acres of forest. It almost seems as if the characters are real. While reading, I almost feel like I'm actually there, like I'm part of the story. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to read a good well-written historical-fiction book.

It was like a window into life in a logging camp in the 30's during the Tillamook burn. It was interesting to see how much society has changed in the last 6 decades. I would recommend this book to any one!

I thought it was confusing, but I liked it. I however didn't like the accent, they do not talk like that in Oregon. I live in Washington, she could of done it here (we have more evergreens).

This is the second book in the McGrath brother series. It's wonderful....a truly romantic love story about two people who met in college and then 10 years later meet again, bidding on the same project

It restores my faith in happy endings.

I highly recommend this book and the first book in the series, "Like a Hurricane".

These two books are St. Claire at her best!

Fire Still Burns is truly a remarkable book. The situation that changed one person's opinion of someone for 10 years and suddenly is faced with that same person bidding on the same job. A great story that you can't lay the book down..I wanted more after I got to the last page. Rosanne out did herself on this book.

Ms. St. Claire has become an automatic buy for me, and THE FIRE STILL BURNS is further proof that she knows how to write for the "keeper shelf."

In her second Desire, we meet the second McGrath brother, the perfect hero for the uptight, old money Grace Harrington. Unconventional Colin McGrath has loved Gracie since college--and he's exactly what she needs to break out of her father's too restrictive lifestyle.

There are enough surprises along the way to keep the pages turning even when forced to read by flashlight (courtesy of hurricane Jeanne). Don't let this great read disappear from the shelf--you'll want to be ready for Cameron McGrath when her third book in the series comes out in April of 2005.

John Harrington Burns returns! After he wrote HIDDEN TREASURES, he wrote FIRST BITE. More short stories, one year later. The man is compelled to tell his stories. I'm glad that he is.

You know my story. At age 36, I decided to dust off the old dream and draw on my experiences, and I whipped out four books. Burns waited until he was over 70 to begin, so it's no wonder he wrote more than one book and is still writing them.

In FIRST BITE, Burns stretches his limits yet again to create an eminently satisfying read. Moving stories of human tragedy and triumph. A fine sense of humor and a subtle wit. Ventures into the supernatural, science fiction and mythology. His story-telling hand grows surer with each book, and he's told me more are on the way. I'm not at all surprised, and I'm thrilled to hear it. He's a rising star in short story writing, and he only gets better with each book.

And, to carry on with what I said in my previous review, you'll find more ideas in these two short story collections than you'll find in the careers of many novelists. Burns can give you an entire world in a few broad strokes and then move on before the paint is dry.

Mr. Harrington's, First Bite, is an intriquing collection of short stories I enjoyed reading very much. His writing style is very poetic in some cases and very much in the era the stories take place. I especially enjoyed Spider Moran and Madame Bey, and The Lucifer Chronicles.

First Bite is the second volume of work by John Harrington Burns that I have read and thoroughly enjoyed. His dreamers, schemers, and thought-provoking situations keep your interest and have you analyzing your own feelings on the wide variety of topics covered in his work. His character development is extraordinary. I felt that I really knew and could visualize some of the people that I met in First Bite.

I am physician-lawyer from the Philippines. I practice in the field of Clinical Forensic Medicine with special interest in Forensic Anthropology. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in forensics-be they lawyers, physicians, judges and law enforcement officers. This book is "the" book if you want to get started in forensic anthropology and forensic osteology.It provides an introduction to osteology and how it is used to determine age, sex and race. The book outlines the basics of laboratory analysis of skeletal remains, field methods used in forensic anthropology,documentation, report writing, court testimony, and human rights application of forensic anthropology. Forensic forms used in actual cases are even included.

The book is highly recommended to students of forensic anthropology and a must read for professionals from other subspeciaties of forensics, lawyers and judges who deal with forensic cases.

I used this book for my Intro to Foensic Anbthropology class and continued to use it in Grad School. It is the only book I can find that has age determination from sternal rib ends.(not even "Standards" has it). HIGHLY recommend!

I am using this text in the anthropology lab with my students of Introduction to Forensic Sciences. As a former student of Dr. Ramey Burns, I am convinced she is an excellent educator who enjoys working with new generations of forensic scientists. Students from First World societies find chapter 15 extremely helpful in our seminar discussions about the importance to learn and to respect local cultures when investigating all sort of crimes. For the next edition of the manual, I would like to recommend the inclusion of scientific advancements in Latin America the author has contributed to develop. For instance, normative standards from populations with Latin American biological affiliation may be used in the identification of skeletal remains here in North America.

I have known Ralf now for many years. I've always been in awe not only of his level of fitness, but of his dedication to educating others about fitness. I have used the Performance Ball since he first introduced it and now follow his book and training video religiously. As a former gymnast I've had many injuries to my ankles and shoulders and if it wasn't for Ralf's instruction, I would have not been able to maintain the level of strength and flexibility I have today. I even use it on the road since I travel all the time and find it invaluable to be able to work out in a hotel room if I don't have access or time to go to a gym. My husband recently started using the Performance Ball and watching Ralf's video and is quickly feeling the improvements in his flexibility. Recently I met a physical therapist and we began talking about workouts and I told him that I use something called the Performance Ball and he said, "Oh yeah, I have those here! I know Ralf and it's a great workout." People ask me all the time how I stay "in shape" and I love telling them about the Performance Ball and Ralf's training materials; something everyone should have.

The main idea of this book is using a medicine ball as a tool for resistance training. The affordable cost of the ball and the great number of exercise variations executed, in the absence of any costly equipment, makes this book unique. It suits people who aim at burning fat and gaining flexibility. It could be useful for advanced athletes as an adjunct to the warm-up segment of training. Its limitation lies in the light weight of the ball that precludes muscles from developing fibers that resist intensive labor.

By virtue of the light resistance of the ball, the book premise of getting fit by three 20-minute weekly sessions is unrealistic. The least effective daily workout should last one hour with a 10-pound medicine ball, for a person with sedentary life. Heavier balls, with comfortable gripping surface, could add muscle mass yet at low peak muscle strength, compared to iron weights. The 20-minute sessions might suit people in occupations that involve heavy physical labor. In that latter case, the medicine ball exercises emphasize the muscles that were neglected in performing those occupations.

Glancing through the book for the first time gave me peculiar sense of boredom. The abundant and redundant black and white photos are made worse by the poor paper quality and by the same person performing closely similar movements. All movements appear to lack an objective ending other than enhancing flexibility. The tall male adult performer adds another dimension of vanity by his excessive preoccupation of seemingly similar and routine poses. Worse yet is his classification of exercisers into beginners, intermediate, and advanced, as if he really has a definitive criteria to draw the lines between those classes of performers.

My boredom and frustration in viewing most of the apparently redundant movements is minimized by my empathy with an author who has passion for something that sounds trivial to many yet efficient and affordable to most of us. I suppose that the author's own thinness and fit outlook is attributed to his indulgence in practical and affordable resistance training.


Mohamed F. El-Hewie
Author of
Essentials of Weightlifting and Strength Training

The most important concept in health and fitness that I've carried away from my studies in Scott Sonnon's "Circular Strength Training" and "Maximology" courses is that eventually, you have to sophisticate your approach to training if you want to truly reap the benefits of high performance and optimal health and vitality. Otherwise, if you just go harder and harder in the cardio sessions, pile on more and more weight in the resistance training and add endless reps in bodyweight calisthentics, etc, you will eventually either burn out or injure yourself.

With that principle in mind, I think that Henning's "Four Way Burn" is an excellent example of a way to implement this principle of sophistication. The movements, exercises and principles taught here lend are very nicely conceived and organized in a way that most fitness and health seekers will find useful, enjoyable and helpful in their quest for energy, fitness and vitality.

I've been having great fun and very pleasing results pressing, jerking, snatching, swinging and casting some very heavy kettlebells and clubbells for several few years now; this may have given me a better perceptual toolset than some people for recognizing the potential of Mr. Henning's system. Based on what I see here, and on my initial attempts at handling a 6 lb medicine ball in these elegant and sophisticated moves, I can promise the potential reader that this system is very challenging but also quite accessible to the average person, even one who is normally "all thumbs". The soft medicine ball is far more forgiving of mistakes and miscues than kettlebells, clubbells or even dumbbells - the worst that can happen if you mess up on these movements (and you will) is that you drop the ball and it will bounce away. That's not the case with an iron weight. believe me - as a person who often had to train with a small dog, a curious cat or preoccupied child wandering into the area, I've had to be careful about these things, and the ball as used here is an excellent compromise in terms of safety to the user and the furniture. The ball reaches some decent speeds, but nothing that imperils life, limb or happiness when things go wrong.

The other aspect I really like about Mr. Henning's system is that almost everything about it is geared towards the way the body's joints, tendons, and muscles actually want to work. The graceful, fluid arcs, ellipses and circles that you move in serve to pump new blood and lymph into areas that are normally starving for them, and the results can be energizing and exhilarating. One excellent example of this would be the exercise Henning calls the "Saturn"; this is a very close cousin of the shoulder girdle exercise called the "Halo" in RKC training and the "Mill" in Clubbell swingining, and there is nothing like it for warming up the neck, trap, and deltoids, leaving them loose, warm, and tingling with fresh blood. And it's just plain fun sometimes; passing the ball around puts you in mind of a Harlem Globetrotter's ball handling exhibition - in my mind, I'm Meadowlark Lemon dazzling the crowd as I carve air and space in ways that fire up your imagination and enthusiasm.

Is this a substitute for a serious yoga practice? No,nothing could make me stop practicing yoga. Is this enough to make you look like a bodybuilder? No...anyone who wants a huge chest and 19 inch guns is still going to need to hit the iron pile. But as a way to add some fun, fitness and functional vitality into your life, "Four Way Burn" is a great tool.

In summary, I really really like the book and the system, enough to over look a few of the design flaws and mediocre photography. You really need to see this stuff live in 3 dimensions to get the most out of the instructions. I'm hoping Henning comes up with a DVD for it soon - surely this excellent concept and product deserves a DVD when there are already about 3,000 Pilates, Cardio, Step and Yoga DVDs out there.

Bravo, Ralf Hennings.

Update: I may have found a DVD that supplements "Four Way Burn". Jeff Martone, a very dedicated, innovative and capable trainer and educator has a product entitled "S.H.O.T. Training", involving iron and "indoor" shotput balls ranging from 4-24 lbs. Martone has very impressive credentials - he's the fellow who reinvented kettlebell juggling in the US - and his stuff is bound to be interesting. More updates to follow. But I still want to see Henning do a DVD to supplement the book!

Unlike many titles in the Osprey series that only deal with the uniforms as objects ( colours, buttons, insigna, etc.), this one is a good and short synthesis about the republican army of 1870-71. No such book was available before. The only noticeable defect is that there is no bibliography.
The army described in the book was raised by the new republican government of France in 1870 to try to repel invasion by the Prussian and German armies, after the two main French Imperial armies had surrendered at Sedan and Metz and the Second Empire had collapsed as a consequence.
(NB: The Imperial army is covered in The French Army of the Franco-Prussian War - part 1).
The republican army was composed of the remnants of the regular army that had not surrendered, as well as the " Garde Mobile" and "Garde Nationale mobilisee" ( made up of people who had drawn a " good number" and were not conscripted in the regular army; they were untrained civilans) and various volunteer or partisan forces.
This books explains clearly and simply what each component of this army was made of, how it was raised, their equipment, weapons and uniforms, their battle records.
At the time, republican France took American civil war armies as their model; they had also been citizen armies raised in haste. Only their opponents, the German armies, were revolutionizing warfare at the time, with their very organized general staff, officer and non-commissioned officer corps, mobilization of well-trained reserve troops, as well as a superior artillery ( Krupp breech-loading steel cannon).
The improvised French army did not stand a chance and all it did in the end was to save the honour of France, that had been badly tarnished by the disasters at Sedan and Metz.

As in every book in the Man-at-arms series there is a series of colour-plates illustrating the uniforms worn by combatants.
The uniforms of this army were quite colourful and the artist has done a good job at reconstructing them.
For more pictures of those uniforms and the battles of the time, the paintings of Edouard Detaille and Alphonse de Neuville, the two most famous French military painters of the time, are THE SOURCE. They are reproduced in many books but the few monographs covering their work in pictures are in French and are very difficult to find.
I would however warmly recommend an excellent recent book by Francois Robichon: L'Armee francaise vue par les peintres, 1870-1914, available from Amazon.fr.

For a thorough account of the war, you can refer to "The Franco-Prussian war" by Michael Howard and a few other titles.

The Franco-Prussian War of 1870-71 was a dark page in French history, and ended with the destruction of the Second Empire,But even after the surrender and abdication of Napoleon III, the french army continued to battle in the ranks of the Republican armies. The Turcos,The chasseur's d'Afrique,The foreign Legion, The infanterie Legere d'Afrique and the Spahis with a detachment of Papal Zouaves which was dispatched by Pius IX to aid France in the conflict were ready to continue the fighting. Despite the disastrous result of the war, the republican troops took the arms and decide not to surrender but The newly raised republican armys had no chance against the german troops.In January Paris surrendered. This Book covers the last part of the Second Empire with information on the uniforms,eigth full color plates with black and white photos. If you are interesting in the FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR you can also consider the Next Titles The Debacle by Emile Zola, Art, War and Revolution in France, 1870-1871, and a Beautiful title from the master of illustration L'Armee Francaise : An Illustrated History of the French Army, 1790-1885(Edoaurd Detaille)

The Second Empire has become a more and more popular period of study for many uniform and military historians. This is the first of two books depicting uniforms of Napoleon III's Imperial Guard troops. the Zouaves,Voltigeurs of the Imperial Guard and many more plates from the Imperial troops

In July 1870, France declared war on Prussia in part over a disagreement about a Prussian prince accepting the crown of Spain. By September 1870, a French army had been defeated, Emperor Napoleon III captured at Sedan, France declared a republic, and Paris under siege. In January 1871, Wilhelm I of Prussia was crowned Kaiser Wilhelm I of a unified Germany at Versailles, Paris fell, and France surrendered, losing Alsace and Lorraine and forced to pay huge reparations. Otto von Bismarck, Chancellor of Prussia since 1862, and now Germany, subsequently sought to keep France isolated to prevent the recovery of Alsace and Lorraine.

The Second Empire, under Napoleon III, was a reaction against the bourgeois age of the previous ruler King Louis Philippe in spirit as well as in deed. The army, elevated from tactful obscurity, was re-modelled on Napoleonic lines, and its neglected iconography revived in the form of the eagle, the crowned 'N' and the Imperial bee. What was needed to complete the resurrection was victory in the field. It is hardly surprising that Napoleon and the army were mindful of the great Napoleonic traditions and were anxious to emulate them. Their first real opportunity came with the Crimean War, in which, despite a muddled campaign, the army acquitted itself well. In 1859 it was again successful, against the Austrians this time, with costly victories at Magenta and Solferino. Their next adventure, unfortunately, ended in a humiliating withdrawal, after a protracted anti-guerrilla struggle in Mexico. Meanwhile, back in Europe, Prussia was fast emerging as a challenge to France's military pre-eminence. In concert with Austria, Bismarck first crushed Denmark before turning on Austria herself. The victory at Sadowa in 1866 stunned Europe, and in Paris Napoleon and his advisers set to thinking of a way to counter this new threat. In this first of two volumes looking at the French Army of the Franco-Prussian War, Stephen Shann and Louis Delperier examine the history, organisation and weapons of the French Imperial troops.

Remember there are two volumes this is the Imperial troops there is also the republican troops

A fine job--Fritz Burns is a non-entity in the consciousness of ninety percent of California residents, but Keane's book takes you through the ups and downs of a man whose endless "little boxes" (though Fritz Burns surely didn't approve of the condescending song--we're all, in the end, from some kind of suburbia) were only part of the accomplishments of a long life as an L.A. "player"--part-politician, part-P.T. Barnum, all salesman.

Every dot-com visionary who lost his shirt in the past year should read this book for inspiration--Burns' story is a literally rags-to-riches tale, and he would have fit right in with today's business leaders.

Besides, who can dislike a man who hired lollipop starlets in bikinis to cut his lawn?

I must take issue with your kind review. It seems like either gross negligence or a complete lack of understanding on the part of the author to not mention Burns' involvement in the Fireside, probably the cornerstone project in his career as a developer. Further, some mention of his membership to the (apparently) Masonic order of the GRC is suspiciously absent.

Nevertheless, it is an excellent tome and worth reading. I bought two.

Gibbon's account of the Romans comes to mind, as does Benjamin's recently published Arcades projects, not to mention Michelet's exhaustive study of the French Revolution, but really there is no precedent for what Mr. Keane has pulled off here.

Frostie was an excellent story, well-told. Once the story got going, it was very engaging. The book is hard to put down. Adults can appreciate the way the story is well-crafted. Kids will love, well let's face it... you can't beat a story with evil snowmen!

I picked up this book for my ten-year-old nephew and read it before giving it to him. I found the book very enjoyable and easy to read. The way the book was written and the story itself made it hard to put the book down. There were a number of very positive themes in the story. These included the aspects of friendship, loyalty, trust, and responsibility. It also instilled a feeling of parental camaraderie showing that one can work with their parents as a team to reach a common goal. Instead of showing adults as the bad guys or a a group that doesn't understand teenagers, it wove them into a cohesive force with the two friends in a common battle against evil. I recommend this book and look forward to more works from this author.

I won't pretend to have complete lack of bias, as this was written by someone in a writers' group in my very own home town. (But I've never met the man, and have only his book to judge him by.)

"Sparks" is a fictional town, but having lived in the North Country all my life, I can say it has an authentic feel. The local legends Richards made up sound exactly like those the old timers at our own small stores tell, the desperate but plucky small town camradie is real, and the story could, well, it could ALMOST happen. How exactly would an Evil snowman come to life? (Won't spoil it but it's plausible in its own context, just real enough to give you the creeps!)

The characters are the kind you can believe exist, and you want things to turn out for them, but at the same time, you don't want the story to end. I'll be recommending it to middle grade kids who want scary stories but are beyond Goosebumps and nowhere near ready for King.

The cover (don't judge a book by that) made me think it would be a much lower-level book than it is, and although the protaganist is only ten, the story would suit junior high or or above.