Father's Day Books

This book is the antidote to the sugary-sweetness of _Charlotte's Web_ or _Babe_. Perhaps you hadn't noticed that either of these two were amazingly sappy. This book puts them in perspective as sugar-coated froth.

While sometimes melancholy, this book delivers a wonderful meal of a story. This tale is sure to nourish far more - and perhaps more realistically - than any tale of talking animals.

A coming of age story for a young boy in 1920s rural Vermont, as he learns to run the farm and understand his father and his father's role. The book is a series of humorous tales and Robert's growing understanding of his world. He hunts, delivers calves, goes to the Rutland Fair, takes care of his pig, and eventually buries his father. A beautiful, funny, and moving tale. A graphic view of life on a farm might be too much for younger children. Grade: A+

This book is amazing because a boy of 12 years old has to help his father on their farm. The most shocking things happens to this boy. First he gets a pig from his neighbor, Ben, and he names the pig Pinky. Some funny events happen in this book too -- like the time, Robert vomits on one of the judges shoes at the fair. Many exciting things happen in this book that may astound you and your parents. I would recommend this book to children who like fascinating and heartbreaking stories. This book is entirely different than other books you may have read.

Sky, 8 years old and happily homeschooled!

I'd give this book zero stars if I could. It sends a message that "growing up" involves butchering pets. There is also dog abuse and a nasty pig rape scene. And this book is assigned to children? We should teach children to respect and care for animals. This book graphically depicts harming and in one case murdering pets.

What an eye opener for this generation! Welcome to the Shaker tradition of plain, earthy, reason. No frills. Where a man's word is second to his deed. I found this novel to be inspiring and humbling. Nowadays, we take so much for granted! Here is a family who earns or makes everything they have, and is gracious enough to consider themselves rich. Indeed they are - rich in faith, love, dignity, integrity, and community.
This is an important coming of age novel for many reasons. Robert Peck has to face challenges that many Young Adult readers face: increased responsibility, the wanting of worldly possessions, and death.

ive recently began reading james patterson novels and i like how he gives away the killers names in the beginning and not wait til the end of the book to reveal them. with honeymoon I thought at first the tourist was another character and not john o'hara the fbi agent but i picked up on that o'hara was craig reynolds. This part was a little confusing I thought it was too much for one person to play. The blond in the book that was following nora i had no clue who that was til the end shocker! Overall although i like james patterson this isnt one of the books i'd recommend if you like more suspense and murder id give this 3 stars out of 5

Honeymoon by James Patterson & Howard Roughan

Wow. I can't believe this won 2005 International Thriller of the Year. Because it's absolutely awful. Eight years ago, I used to read Patterson, but I just can't anymore. His writing style has turned into something unbearable.

Plot summary: (SPOILER INCLUDED)
Olivia Sinclair killed her husband, in front of her six year-old daughter Nora. Arrested and sentenced to life in prison, Olivia convinces everyone that she's mentally incompetent and ends up in a cushy sanitarium. Except, she's just pretending. Meanwhile, tiny Nora ends up getting kicked from one foster home to another until she becomes a black widow, a woman who repeatedly marries and murders her husbands, in the most excruciatingly painful way possible--poison. She ends up transferring a large sum of money and garnering the attention of an undercover cop/agent named O'Hara. He becomes her next victim. (It's okay, he lives.) Anyway, he puts everything together and they finally catch her, but then let her go because if they took her to trial, some very personal CIA/FBI/Dept of Homeland Security info that O'Hara is privy to would come out. So her latest victim's sister ends up poisoning her. Yeahhh. Okay, that was the only enjoyable part of the whole awful book.

What I hated (because I already told you the only part I liked):
--Every chapter is less than four pages, no kidding.
--Choppy sentences, terse description, and then an entire paragraph devoted to describing a person's appearance, a building's appearance, an airport's appearance, etc. in nauseating detail.
--Constant changes in point of view.
--A very long list of confusing characters given various nicknames.
--No feeling. Seriously, I like reading a story. This wasn't a story. It was like reading a traffic report, just the details, no feeling, and very choppy.

I think this will be my last James Patterson book. It's my 3rd and so far all of them have been cheesy and predictable. This one was probably the better of the 3, but still I'm left wondering how it is that all of these guys fall for Nora Sinclair and don't figure out she lives 3 different lives. Seems to me they'd eventually get suspicious of her constant travelling and inaccessibiity. As for the FBI's role in all of this drama, I genuinely hope they are not that nieve or dumb. It's hard for me to enjoy and follow a book that seems so unrealistic. And what's with all of the soft-porn scenes? I wasn't aware that I'd picked up a romance novel.

Overall I'll give it a 2 because it did keep me entertained, even though in some cases I was laughing at how ridiculous it got.

Nora sinclair is a disturbed woman. although i liked the book it left me with some questions that never got answered like what was her purpose? She killed got money but never done anything with it so i didn't understand the point behind it all. The fact that Susan had a little mystery to her was great and so was John's even though i knew from reading what his identities were long before revealed. Overall the book kept my attention but i was expecting more from this celebrated author.

This was my first James patterson book and it won't be my last. I hope to be able to crank out novel after novel like he does some day. I can't imagine how he do it but somehow he does. The next novel i'm planning to take a stab at is the quickie since the commercials had me wanting to read it.

This is one of Patterson's best! A true page-turner! I loved the references to Hitchcock throughout the book, because this book had the tone and suspense of a Hitchcock thriller. I would love to see a movie - maybe Ashley Judd as Nora and Bill Pullman as John Sinclair?

Being cautious not to find a book that I wouldn't finish, I downloaded the electronic version from my library. My most favorite book in the world is Nelson DeMille's Charm School, and now David's Total Control shares that title. The 624 pages went FAST. This is a page turner that you just can't wait to find out what the next exciting action packed page has in store! I could not believe the extreme pace, multiple plot lines that were tied together and finally a finale worth the entire read. GIVE ME MORE~!

Have you ever seen anyone with a blood red face? How about whiter than paper? Green? Couldn't help but note these descriptions in Baldacci's novel. His or her face occasionally "reddened," "went pale," "reddened", "paled," "was eggshell pale," "white as a ghost," "carried a red sheen," "turned ashen," "was red with anger," "face flamed red," "was a shade of white," "turned a shade paler," "was now blood red," "flushed," "turned whiter than paper," "grew red," "froze," "went stone cold", "turned green." Are these aliens Baldacci is dealing with? Aside from this, a readable book.

Sometimes Baldacci writes entertaining material (Absolute Power for one) - this is definitely not one of those times. His characters in this overlong novel are absurd - every one of them. The plot is way too convoluted. Just awful stuff - avoid at all costs.

This is more like it. A good exciting book that keeps on moving. It was not as good as Absolute Power but way better than The Winner. I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys good non-stop excitment.

I read about 80 books a year, and this one was a TOTAL WASTE of time. The main character, Sydney Archer, is a blonde dingbat. Simpering and helpless one moment, she's Wonder Woman the next, demonstrating unbelievable prowess. A really annoying character, one begins to hope that the bad guy wins. The book goes all over the map with complicated interactions among a host of characters, but none of it is credible. Don't waste your time. Baldacci must have needed the money to write something this bad.

Frank Bascombe takes his son on a road trip to visit sport's halls of fame. Frank's son has emotional issues, and of late has been getting in more than just a little bit of trouble. It would be wise, although not manditory, to read The Sportswriter first. That book will give one a passport into Frank. Frank is a thinker, he is divorced, has two children, is not hurting for money, is a realtor, and is willing to try new things. If one gives Mr. Ford a chance, his character, Frank, will make one either want to cry or cheer for humanity.

The first sentence in this book, which I have read many times, is enough to make some people quit reading. I have read several articles about the way to begin a piece of fiction, and I don't think any of them recommended an approach such as this one. Also, I wouldn't recommend reading this when there are distractions or if one has a headache. This book takes some concentration, but reading it is like earning an award that is many, many times more valuable than the effort invested. Beach reading it may not be, and there are other great books for those times.

We have been waiting a long time for this kind of writing. For me, not since Updike's Rabbit have I read such an engrossing, attractive, masculine character. What makes Frank Bascombe so attractive is his ordinariness, not at all an easy thing to accomplish. Intellectuals are easy for intellectuals to construct, but to find a guy who likes hot dogs, real estate and women is rare, and the reader knows it. This is, in some ways, Hemingway territory, but Bascombe is happy, unlike Mr. Hemingways's anxiety-driven specimens. New Jersey makes for a wonderful setting. Together with Philip Roth, Ford has made certain that Jersey has replaced Mississippi as the center of the American landscape. It's glorious country.

I had high hopes for this book but was sadly disappointed. Read this book if you want to study long long sentence construction. Each sentence was a test of my concentration. The story however did warrant this much effort. Perhaps Pulitzer is a reward for the most number of words with the fewest periods? I gave up.

So many books are ones which "I just couldn't put down" but our lives rarely allow us to focus like that - we have all kinds of little things that require our attention. This books reads like the pull and push of our lives and you can take a little in at a time, go on to something else you need to do and then return as naturally as we do in our actual lives. I have rarely had that kind of experience with a book. Thanks.

Many people in America are reluctant to confront authority.
When they say this is a good novel and they are the "authority" , what is then
my natural reaction? This novel reminds me very much of the novel Babbitt
that I was forced to read for English literature and the author seems to be
without the connection to his extreme in materialism. ( He seems to
think he is a liberal.) I got to really dislike the protagonist in the first 100 pages
and even to dread reading more of his overationalizing morbidity.
I was left longing for the sincere freshness of Sinclair Lewis!
Making a point in some worthwhile theme would be good.
Woody Allen makes his points more clearly and maybe
with less name dropping . There is no convincing change ...
the hero doesn't get the point when he allows harm to come to his son.
It doesn't really seem to get through: mowing his lawn isn't a radical
change in behavior. He says a lot without ever saying anything:
he writes well without ever making a point.
He describes much without seeming to be able to find any meaning in what he sees.
I had a very negative reaction to this form of intellectualism.
I suppose that there must be some method here , but for me it is lost in excessive verbiage.
I prefer Tortilla Flats or Sweet Thursday where the point is in the results...
I keep asking the author to actually understand something in his own
reality. Obfuscation with window dressing of intellectualism...
If the protagonist were actually in touch with himself,
he'd put rocks in his pocket and walk into a river ( or someone
else would do it for him?). Calling this novel a literary master piece seems
to me to be a a form of intellectual sadomasochism: a lie.

I found this book interesting and entertaining at the same time. I just don't know the level of understanding that can be reached by any reader who is not familiar with the subjec. Most of the acronyms are not explained, and the different levels of the chain of command are not depicted with the proper clarity. Both the above issues are not critical for those familiar with warfare and doctrine, but could be a problem for casual readers.

Good read. Also gave me a better understanding of Desert Storm and made a talk by Genereal Franks more enjoyable.

I like Tom Clancy, really; but this book was so boring that I found myself constantly falling asleep while trying to read it. It's a good and informative story, but seriously needs an editor.

This is the problem with Clancy's non-fiction work, in my opinion. Much too wordy, and not edited enough to seem as engaging as his original fiction. We've seen better books written in military and war time situations, but Clancy constantly gets sidetracked by the 'essay' approach to non-fiction.

First of all, you should know that the parts of this book written by Gen. Franks are not literary masterpieces. But then again Franks is not an author, he's a soldier.

However, if you want to learn about the no BS day by day actions of VII Corps during the 4 day ground war... this is the book for you. I was a young Sergeant in 3rd Armored Division during Desert Storm and this book really brings back the images of the war better than any other book on the subject I've read (including "Crusade" and "It doesn't take a hero").

The General has painstakingly written most of the essential information that one must read in order to know what happened during the infamous "Hail Mary" (as Schwarzkopf likes to refer to it) from the point of view of the soldiers of VII corps.

Gen. Franks is a gentleman soldier who, above all else, is a consummate professional. You won't get the theatrics that were included in Schwarzkopf's book... all you get is the down and dirty facts of what VII Corps went through.

Apart from the info regarding Desert Storm, I also enjoyed the background information on Gen. Franks, his service in Vietnam and how he overcame a potential career killer (losing half of his leg to a grenade) and became a Lieutenant General in the U.S. Army (and a 4-Star before he retired).

However, memoirs like this aren't really written for the public. Rather, their written for students of the event so they can learn from the past. And, for that, this book deserves a spot on any military enthusiasts book shelf.

Oh, and Tom Clancy did a good job too!

The book is very dense and poorly written. I expected a clearer narrative from Clancy. The book is repetitive and could be much tighter. Franks complains about being criticized for the tempo of his forces during the war. While he may have been wrongly criticized, it seems to be eating him up and the book reads like a 700 page justification of his decisions. I think it really detracts from what could have been an expert level description of the ground war. I appreciate that Franks is describing the war from his perspective, but I would have preferred less of his emotions and more matter of fact information about how the war progressed and the battles fought. He uses much more ink describing how the criticism of him was incorrect than he does describing his corps elimination of the Iraqi divisions.

I listened to it, rather than turning pages. The first half was more interesting than the
second half, which is more politics than personal or military history. That is not to deny
value to the later portion of the book. It was interesting to compare Zinni's adventures in
Somalia to the account in "Emergency Sex and Other Desperate Measures -- A True Story From
Hell On Earth" by Kenneth Cain, Heidi Postlewait, and Andrew Thompson. They can both be true.

Zinni wins my admiration for his patient determination to improve things, a unit or a nation.
He shows the Somalia warlords as human. It was a disappointment that he took so long to see
through Yasser Arafat.

Zinni makes much of his "tell it like it is" attitude, and his interest in how to fight effectively.
I was surprised that he did not mention the statue of John Boyd in the center of the lobby at
Marine headquarters. Boyd was an Air Force fighter pilot, that taught how to fight effectively,
and told unpopular truths. Amazon has several books about him.

Zinni did not support the Iraq war. He claims plans for after the battles were won were not done,
or not done well. Could be. He claims 300,000 troops were needed. I wish he had supplied details
of that estimate, similar to the detailed plans for the evacuation from Somalia.

This is not one of Clancy's best, but it is still pretty good. I recommend it to those interested
in military history, whatever their opinions on the current Iraq situation.

Mr Clancy is one of the best military writers and he is typically on his game in this biography of Marine General Tony Zinni who eventually rose to CINC at CENTCOM, the command that has the heart of the middle east at its core. Clancy deftly switches back and forth between a first-person narrative of his subject and his own overviews of the history and background of each period, whether it be Vietnam or Somalia, Turkey or Pakistan. The only issue I have with Tom Clancy is italics. Everything told verbally by General Zinni is presented in italics so that a 440-page narrative probably contains about 220 pages of italics. If only Mr. Clancy would consult the Chicago Manual which states that italics should be used sparingly and never for more than a paragraph! Tom, I get a different voice in my head when I read the italics and I don't necessarily like that voice.

This book, co written with General Tony Zinni, tells of the methods, means, and the reasons for our military. The last part, when General Zinni pulls no punches, about our approach to war, foreign relations, and when to use and how to use the military [with the help of the civilian authority] to fight smarter battles and when to fight, is an excellent assessment of our current problems in the U.S.. His approach to fight in a "smarter" way, reflecting the new realities of war, e.g., terrorism, and an ever changing world, is the way it should be-and not to declare "victory", if that is the objective, on an aircraft carrier as a photo-op [his words], and to support the ideas that are right and to criticize the ideas that are wrong, even if they are "politically" incorrect. A first rate book.

While 'In to the storm' elaborate detail of one big battle, and 'Shadow warrior' tells many big events, this 'Battle ready' tells us every single experience of General Zinni from O-2, O-3, O-4, everything till retired from O-10. I think I will be bored but with his sense of humor, General Zinni brings all his tought without make this book boring. (e.g. the HANDCON and took a bus in 'Nam).
I learn how military and diplomat works in peacemaker process.

In the summer of 1994, I attended a change-of-command ceremony at Camp Pendleton for the I Marine Expeditionary Force. A new 3-star was about to take command prematurely for someone of his seniority. He hadn't even been a division commander, a 2-star billet. The fast-tracking general was Tony Zinni and the rest of his career continued to rocket. Other reviewers have commented on every aspect of his book, including his lack of support for the invasion of Iraq, so I will focus on two parts that impressed me deeply. I do agree with several others that having Tom Clancy as a co-author was distracting and unnecessary. The alternating first and third-person narratives were uneven at times. Thus the 4-stars. But then again, "Battle Ready" is not a literary selection.

The first part was Zinni's 1967 tour as an adviser (called "co van" for "trusted friend" with the Vietnamese Marine Corps). Many accounts have been published about Marines in Vietnam but only handful has come from advisers; the very best Marine officers were selected for advisory duty. Other "co vans" include Gens. Boomer, Hoar, and Myatt--on the Army side, McCaffrey, Powell and Schwarzkopf. All of these men experienced a different Vietnam War than those who fought in American units.

Why is Zinni's advisory experience relevant now? Marine advisers are mentoring Iraqis, and they could only dream their counterparts fought like the South Vietnamese. There's no hubris in Zinni's observations. He understood the Americans' lack of cultural knowledge, including his own early on: "The advisers' job was not to give the Vietnamese Marines tactical advice (they had more fighting experience than most Americans, and it was their country...American commanders were all in a hurry. They wanted to end the war on their one-year tour of duty. Vietnamese [Marine] commanders realized they would be in it for the duration."

The last chapter, Chapter Eight titled "The Calling," is a classic leadership primer-observations made over the distinguished 40-year career of Zinni, a Marine warrior, scholar and leader. As a former Marine, I found his last paragraph most touching: "I have been all over this globe and exposed to most of the cultures on it. I am fascinated by them. I love the diversity. I want to understand them and embrace them. I could never understand prejudice or rejection or the sense of superiority that drive the hatemongers of the world. I lived through a tumultuous period of our history when our own minorities broke from second-class citizenship into full participation in this wonderful dream we call America. I have been proud of their accomplishments and contributions. They have proven the bigots wrong and made our nation greater. I hope the dream we have struggled to realize can be extended to the rest of the planet."

General, it was my privilege to serve under commanders like you. Semper fi!

Anchors Aweight

The author brought back memories of my enlistment and the emotional side of understanding what you were all about.

The writers clearly provided a solid accountability of Navy Boot Camp and life onboard ship for an enlisted man -- which deserves 5 Stars. But the rest of book is bad. You've got two very immature young men failing in college and join the Navy to escape the draft. The language and exploits of these two sailors does not reflect all servicemen. I know this is a work of fiction, so the reader MUST keep that in mind. Maybe I missed the boat on this one (I am a ten year enlisted Navy veteran). All I kept thinking while reading this is "when are these two going to grow up". Fortunately, the U.S. Navy provided me a strong foundation and values. It's like anything in life -- you get out of it, what you put into it.

I had been reading one of the latest Jeffery Deaver mysteries when "Anchors Aweight" arrived. I flipped through a few of the pages of my new book, read a couple of paragraphs and immediately put the Deaver book aside to complete another day.

Morris and Jenswold got this one right. The bootcamp experiences are so real I found myself having flashbacks. Laughing out loud was not uncommon. Something I don't believe I've ever done before while reading a book. The trips to Milwaukee and Chicago reminded me of those same trips I made from bootcamp.

Descriptions of the Charleston Naval Base, the strip and of course the "Jetsomn DD821" brought back even more memories for this ol' Sailor. The only disappointment is the story does end abruptly. Of course this leaves the possibility of a sequel about the Med Cruise the Jetsomn was about to leave on. I was on that Med Cruise by the way.

This story reads real for anyone who spent time in the United States military - any branch. My father served in the US Navy during WWII and my youngest son is in the Navy now over in the Gulf aboard the USS Enterprise. I'm buying them both a copy.

"Anchors Aweight" is an incredible work especially considering the authors are first time writers (I believe). I found myself wanting more. I hope they follow up with "Anchors Aweight II". They must have some incredible stories to share about their Med Cruise. Their story is written from the heart. A must read, highly recommended. Don't miss out on this wonderful story!

George A. Sites, RD2
USS Johnston DD821
1969 thru 1971

This book described pretty much what some sailors lives probably are like,but certainly not all. I take into consideration that this is a work of fiction and so must be accepted as that. i enjoyed the book up to a point, but as I've gotten older, and hopefully more mature, I found the overuse of some language objectionable. This book will not be kept in my library.

This is a book that you won't want to put down. It illustrates a both comic and tragic version of the classic military experience as witnessed by millions of young men in our armed forces both today and in the past. The two characters in this book take comedy to new heights as they make the most of every day in the navy, doing whatever it takes to have a good time. Beautifully written, this novel is hilarious, intelligent and told from the heart. It's the story of carefree sailors in their teens named Andy and Jay, and the relationship that they develop when they meet in the Navy onboard ship, rather unexpectedly. Both of their lives are changed for better or worse by this event caused by the Vietnam War and the all encompassing "draft". This is not a story of heroics or warriors. It is a book about the coming of age story about young men who are angry, confused, and decide to make the most of their situation. They are desperately seeking & reaching out for any slice or sliver of fun that reminds them of their freedom before they were faced with possibility of being drafted. It becomes a wise story of learning to make do with what you have or if given lemons then..... These two naïve young men seem to be the perfect fit for friendship as they play well off of each other in a host of ridiculously humorous situations. All in all, they are as decent and kind as one could ever wish & hope for given the troubled times in which they live. This is an intelligent and wise handling of the interaction between two men and the Navy (military life, et. Al.). All of this can be a little chaotic and at times, absurdly so. There are a lot of twists in the tales within this story that will keep you turning the pages as fast as you can. Andy and Jay seem to naturally free fall from one difficult situation to the next, some of which they create for themselves. The effect this has on the two hapless sailors is a complete gas. All the time they are unwittingly learning how best to survive the military, but more importantly how to survive life.
I really enjoyed this novel by the pair of new authors, Morris and Jenswold. Their reflections on life in the Navy, the hardships, and the absurdities in life, are much more advanced than other novelists, even, the ending was very unexpected, and could only come from clever novelists like them. It's realistic, wise, humorous, and extremely believable all at the same time. I hope there is a continuation of this story line in the future. Highly recommended! This is a great story about friendship and surviving the military weight of doing things.

The author is an idiot. Players are not overrated when they are excellent players whose careers are cut short by injury. Koufax and Dean overrated? They did things in their injury shortened careers that others never accomplished playing twice as long. Everyone would be better off reading books by smarter, sensible writers. Stark is just another overrated journalist out of the ESPN Stable. Those interested in really finding out about baseball history should ignore books by those unqualified to write one.

Fun ride through baseball stats and history, this book is one of those argument-starters that make baseball such a great game to play, watch, listen to (the only sport that may be better on radio than on TV), and read about.

Stark takes a strictly personal approach to the debate, not laying out any rules for inclusion or exclusion as he goes position by position (and by franchise in a short appendix that would make a great follow-up book all by itself) listing the top five overrated and underrated players. His extensive explanations and defenses of his (sometimes controversial) top choices are the meat of the book, and constitute a primer in how to watch baseball games and accurately value individual players' contributions to team success.

There is something here to delight and offend every fan--I know I was mightily and not happily surprised to see Manny Sanguillen from my beloved 1970s Pittsburgh Pirates listed as one of the top overrated catchers. Sure, he didn't take walks, but he also played second fiddle only to Johnny Bench, the best catcher ever, during his career. Besides his ability to handle the pitching staff, his intangibles as the spirit of the team have to be taken into consideration.

But that's the point of the book, and Stark makes good points to defend his side of the arguments.

I think any serious baseball fan would find Jayson Stark's book interesting and thought-provoking. The most overrated and underrated players is a great topic that can be endlessly debated. Stark tries to separate the myth from reality. And, there are no sacred cows--witness his selection of Nolan Ryan as the most overrated right-handed pitcher and Sandy Koufax as the most overrated left-handed pitcher.

Stark makes interesting and solid arguments for his No. 1 most overrated and underrated players at each position. He presents a thumbnail argument for Nos. 2 through 5. I would have liked a little more depth for these players.

When selecting underrated players, Stark relies too much on the voting for the 1999 All-Century team. Face it, you didn't have to know anything about baseball history to vote for that team. And, the results prove it. Being underrated by a bunch of baseball know-nothings isn't the same as being underrated by members of the Society for American Baseball Research.

It's easy to argue with some of Stark's selections (that's the point of the book). Stark must have had been suffering from a beaning, however, when he selected Don Zimmer as overrated. Overrated by whom? I've never met a baseball fan who praised Zimmer (a .235 lifetime hitter) as a player. If you think a player is overrated if a fan knows that he was a utility infielder 40 years after he retired, then Zimmer would be overrated. Otherwise, I can't see it.

While Stark can be interesting and enlightening, his style also can be irritating. His sophomoric shtick of flippantly addressing the reader and his numerous quips detract from the book. He also belabors the point of what he means by being overrated and underrated to the point of nausea.

Stark's book, however, is worth reading for the statistical nuggets alone. Here are some examples:
· Richie Ashburn's four 500-putout seasons is as many as all other Hall of Famers combined.
· Jim Wynn never received a Hall of Fame vote.
· Steve Garvey had six 200-hit seasons, but never scored 100 runs in a season.
· Frank Robinson is the only player to win the Rookie of the Year, Most Valuable Player, World Series MVP, and All-Star MVP awards.
· Ashburn and Rogers Hornsby are the only players to lead the league in average, walks and hits.

Here is an enjoyable read for those baseball fans who have always questioned the rankings of various players throughout the decades. In simple and lively writing,the author singles out various overated and underated players and the reasons why they have fit into these categories.
It's a quick read and something to be passed on to a fellow baseball fan or better yet, to a friend with whom you have always argued with over the worth and abilities of various ball players.

This guy is nuts! He says Yaz is the most overated Red Sox player ever.
And has some of the most popular players as Overated and in some cases he has players underated and most people think of them as great. I really don't get the point of the book except to make money!

I was captivated by the hubbub that seemed to erupt often in the Day household. Traveling back to a time long past and being told of society's customs was a treat. Witnessing Mr. Day's frequent outbursts was entertaining as well. And what of Clarence's two-week stay in Chicago for the World's Fair, which cost him only $48? Imagine that today! Mrs. Day had such a singular way of handling Mr. Day; I found it hard not to admire her fiesty spirit. Mr. Day was domineering by today's standards, but Clarence even remarks that it was clear his father loved the family dearly.

should have been locked up for the emotional abuse of his children.

Clarence Day's writing style is adequate, the book reads quickly (I finished it in two brief sittings), but why Day would want to honor that horror of a father by writing a memoir about him is beyond me.

Read the play instead, by Lindsay and Crouse. L & C had the good sense to soften the father's character and make him more palatable. In the play you will find humor, but not in the memoir.

I loved reading this book growing up, and I still reread it about every five years. Some reviewers have complained about the father's behavior, and certainly in 2004 no husband/father could behave as he did. However, for the period in which the story takes place (the 1870s/80s), the father is pretty typical and clearly loved his family a lot. The chapters about the author having violin lessons and sharing mail with his father are particularly good. For people who understand that customs and society itself were different in earlier times, this book will be a delight.

These are very amusing sketches of family life in New York in the 1880s and 90s. Clarence Day Seniuor is a larger-than-life character, autocratic, excitable, with strong likes and dislikes. I was a bit startled to read a previous review that spoke of his 'emotional abuse' of his children. There is no abuse , emotional or otherwise, in this book. Mr Day clearly adored his family. Another reviewer says that Day Snr 'disrespected his wife'. Again, I see no evidence of disrespect in this book, Mr Day obviously loves his slightly eccentric wife to distraction, and in their frequent clashes of temperament she almost always succeeds in getting the better of him. The chapter where she departs on a lengthy trip to Egypt, leaving him pining for her, is particularly touching. This is a charming book, much more amusing than the pleasant but rather bland film that was based on it.

"Life With Father" by Clarence Day is such a charming memoir! I fell in love with this book and I liked how it was set up. The chapters marked different events that stood out in Day's mind. I like that over just a plain memoir, going through life in chronological order. I liked the witty humor, and Father seemed very humorous. This is just a great book to sit back and read the day away with! I recommend.

The Bookcassette Adapter gives you balance control on your headphones and is so easy to use: Plug it into the stereo jack of your personal tapeplayer and then plug your headphones into the other side. The Bookcassette Adapter Works ONLY on Stereo Tapeplayers.

If you plan on listening to Bookcassette audio books on a stereo system where you can adjust the sound between the left and right speakers separately, such as a rack system with separate left and right speaker controls or a car stereo with a left and right balance dial, you will be able to listen to Bookcassette audio books without a problem. If you plan on listening to these audio books on a portable cassette player that does not have this capability, such as a Walkman with headphones, you will require an adapter.

As I said, it would be cheaper to buy it on the Internet, especially on eBay, instead of directly from the company (Brilliance Corporation) at 1-800-697-6797

In the election year of 2000, Governor Theodore G. Jay is elected popularly as the 43rd President of the United States, with Senator T.E.Garland (d-Tex) as Vice President. Just two years later, President Jay has dropped significantly in the polls, and subsequently invokes the 25th amendment, declaring himself as having a "major depressive episode" and unfit to perform his duties as President. He transfers hid duties to Vice President T.E. Garland. When it is learned President Jay is ready to re-assume his duties, a massive plot emerges to overthrow the sitting president and arrange some sort of coup d'etat. This is where it becomes incredibly confusing. There are far too many characters to keep straight, everyone seems to have a code name or "Go Code", the Vice President who is really the President seems in on the plot, as do the Joint Chiefs of Staff and several Senators. I like political intrigue, conspiracy and mystery, I really do, but I listened to this audio cassette (two tapes) four times and still I don't think I got it right. Frankly, it's one big mess. AND - the narration, with its obviously contrived Texas accent - is horrible. It is narrated by Bill Weideman.

No doubt about it, Batchelor did a solid job making his characters into flesh and blood people, bringing to the surface all their strengths and weaknesses. You wanted to root on one of the big heroes, Maine Governor and Presidential hopeful Jack Longfellow, but there was a taint on him due to his affair with another woman. I also liked Joint Chiefs Chairman General Sensenbrenner. He's a guy still not afraid to walk where regular foot soldiers go and has a soft spot for those in poverty, especially children. He comes off as such a stand-up guy you forget he's trying to help Vice President Shy Garland overthrow President Teddy Jay. Speaking of the Veep, I don't think he really came off as the power-hungry nut he was. One really interesting aspect of the story was the fact that while Garland is power hungry, President Jay is still battling depression and sounds like a total wet noodle throughout the book. You start to wonder who is the better guy to have in the White House. The ending, however, did leave me scratching my head in certain places.

While the premise of the book my seem unbelieveable, the very fact that the 25th Amendment makes this scenario possible makes this book very chilling. I found it to be very entertaining and very hard to put down. I highly recommend it for an political junkies looking to get lost in something other than the current events in Washington!

"Father's Day" starts with a good premise: the tension between an elected President who has voluntarily taken a leave of absence under the disability clause of the twenty-fifth amendment, and the Vice President who has been acting as President during the disability. Two years after winning a landslide, but with his "approval rating . . . plunged to a post-Cold War low" and his marriage disintegrating, President Theodore G. Jay "collapsed with a disability diagnosed as a major depressive episode." For five months, Vice President T.E. Garland acts as President while Jay recuperates. Then Jay decides that he is rested and ready for resuming his office. But Garland, enjoying the office and its power, is reluctant about handing them back. And Garland has been accumulating quite a few friends while he has been running the country.

That premise would have made for a good, fast-paced, tense political drama. But author John Calvin Batchelor takes it too far: instead of weaving a plausible story out of politics and psychology, he opts for cheap but implausible thrills. The denouement is unsubtly foreshadowed in the first three pages, so I am giving nothing away by telling you that the first chapter opens with an unquestioningly obedient military rehearsing for an assault upon Air Force One, ending in an assassination. To Batchelor's credit, he gets the law right, and his application of the twenty-fifth amendment's provisions for a political contest between a disabled President and a Vice President acting as President is unimpeachable (no pun intended). But once the story steps outside politics and into action-adventure, reality bites the dust, and the story takes a turn so far-fetched that it ruins what may otherwise have been a good book.