Ball Books

Chris Shillock's anth ology is a breath of fresh air from the US. As America frightens the rest of the world in its march to the right, voices like Chris Shillock's are a welcome sound, speaking out against the policies of his government. His poetry is powerful because it is fuelled by the indignation at the injustices he percieves. As well as a book of his poetry, there's a CD with Chris reading his work, and a short movie. Keep up the good work Chris.

Anthony Ginn, Organisor UK Poets Against The War. (www.poetsagainstwar.org.uk)

This multimedia package of verse, song and image is many things: imaginative, original... at times it pierces my heart with the rage-subverted-into-sorrow over what can happen to a great country in times of fear. And yet, by the end of Sleepless in America, I have enough hope left over to think, "yes! We might make it. We just might."

A few words about the poems. They are very inventive, imaginative, beautiful, and at times, cruel. Even within the imagination (Sleepless in America, for example), they are always honest. And that is why they resonate at such a deep level for me, because within the spaces of what he doesn't say your heart opens... never superfluous, he uses a blend of imagery and space between to have a moment in your life in which you pause to hope.

This item receives four stars from me. In fact, many of the poems actually receive five stars, but taken as an overall package it has a few rough edges. Technically, it slipped into my computer and played easily. At times the editing of the images isn't as slick as we're used to in this uber-digital world. On the other hand, I'm not sure it should be, because this is about a grass-roots poet dispensing grass-roots message in a grass-roots format... like a father searching for his son killed in battle, Shillock is brushing the dirt away from these tattered bones and washing them with his tears. He will give the dead a proper burial, and mount the framed picture of all his hopes on his wall, so that others might see what we have all lost... and so that we might remember next time.

Shillock is a journeyman poet from the Twin Cities and, before that, New York. His seasoned wordcraft is clear in this, the first media poetry collection dedicated exclusively to his work. It's a delicious experiment with the mission of extending the experience a live reading from the stage to the reader's desktop. Shillock uses video productively in the clips he includes on the disc, which (in my experience) played flawlessly in Windows Media Player. There are rough edges here and there, true enough. But this is the kind of media poetry anthology one wants to reward and encourage, to see what the artist may accomplish as he masters the medium in fuller strokes. It's prime poetry experimentalism, and you, good reader, are invited to the Ball.

THIS IS A GRAND BOOK THAT CAN BRING GARDENING TO ALL OF US. WE BENEFIT FROM THE YEARS OF TRIALS AND SUCCESSES THAT WAS PUT INTO THE RESEARCH THAT BRINGS US THIS BOOK. THE COMBINATIONS THAT JEFF BALL HAS BROUGHT TO US FROM ALL THE MANY HISTORICAL TECNIQUES ARE IRREPLACEABLE. WE WOULD NOT HAVE STARTED DOING IT WITHOUT HIM.
Update:
We have modified a lot of his methods to suit us as we learn. Plus, keep in mind, the book was written some time ago. However, it is a great beginning for ideas and encouragement.

This is the book to have if you want a beautiful and productive garden, especially if you don't have a lot of room. I've been carrying this book around with me for years, just waiting until I finally owned my own house so that I could build the raised beds and the interlocking system that he describes in this book.

My neighbors were a little bemused when they saw us out in the back yard, building our garden: "Oh, those are those raised beds, eh? I've heard of those" I'll tell you, when we had a cold spring and I turned my beds into little greenhouses (by covering pvc arches with clear plastic) I got a few more odd looks, but when it finally warmed up I took off the plastic and my tomatoes were three times the size of everyone else! With that head start, they were soon over six feet tall, and producing more wonderful tomatoes than I could handle.

Oh, and not needing to weed the garden (thanks to using his system of plastic mulch) and being able to water the whole garden by just turning a knob (thanks to setting up a drip irrigation system under the mulch, as he explains in the book) made taking care of my garden much easier than the traditional row gardens my neighbors have. As time passes, and my soil gets better and better, the advantages of this system will continue to accrue.

It's sad that this book is out of print, but it's definitely worth some effort to find a copy!

I read this book in one afternoon. I applied the ideas and have had a far more productive garden in less space with far less effort than before. Ball's book presents specific information, complete with shopping lists for materials and sources of hard-to-find products. He also includes information on companion planting, scheduling and organic approaches. I wouldn't be without it!

I had been golfing with an all consuming enthusiasm for about a month when I grew frustrated at how much I wanted to know and how little the experienced players around me knew. I accidently ran across this book and it was as if the windows of heaven opened and a heavenly choir revealed to me the secrets of golf. EVERYTHING IS IN HERE. Everything you need to know about your clubs, all the gear you need to have and how to use it, the basic rules and etiquette of the game, how to score (so you don't feel dumb asking questions in the middle of a round), the mechanics of all the shots, basic course management and more. And easily one of the most effective how-to books I have ever seen in terms of using illustrations. I now own over two dozen golf books, and this book ranks equal with the classics in terms of actual practical use. It is also an excellent quick reference for the non-beginner also. If you are starting to play golf YOU HAVE TO HAVE THIS BOOK!!!

I had been golfing with an all consuming enthusiasm for about a month when I grew frustrated at how much I wanted to know and how little the experienced players around me knew. I accidently ran across this book and it was as if the windows of heaven opened and a heavenly choir revealed to me the secrets of golf. EVERYTHING IS IN HERE. Everything you need to know about your clubs, all the gear you need to have and how to use it, the basic rules and etiquette of the game, how to score (so you don't feel dumb asking questions in the middle of a round), the mechanics of all the shots, basic course management and more. And easily one of the most effective how-to books I have ever seen in terms of using illustrations. I now own over two dozen golf books, and this book ranks equal with the classics in terms of actual practical use. It is also an excellent quick reference for the non-beginner also. If you are starting to play golf YOU HAVE TO HAVE THIS BOOK!!!

I enjoyed this book very much. I found that it's very informative and easy to follow. As as beginning golfer myself, the instructions and photos in this book have helped me a lot. I can now hit the ball almost every time and use all my irons and woods. This book has shown me every single detail of golfing from holding the club to hitting the golf ball with a full body swing. The instructions given were easy to remember. When I was practicing my golf swing at the driving range, I would remember almost every instruction given. I would recommend every beginner read this book. The authors do a wonderful job of explaining the way that golf should be played.

This is the perfect book for a baseball-loving grandparent or parent to read to his/her baseball-loving grandchild. Mr. Janssen shares his baseball memories from his boyhood--listening to broadcasts of Yankees games on the radio from start to finish--to adulthood and fatherhood--recounting details of minor league games he attended with his sons, big homeruns in the majors, and memorable rain outs. And it all matters.

His subject is baseball. But what's at work beneath it all is that the reason it matters is because of the way it connects us--how it turns men and women back into boys and girls. As Janssen says, "this magnificent sport has handed down to fathers and sons a priceless ritual that gives order to their world."

Let's Play Ball celebrates that to the fullest.

This would be a great gift book for children to read. There are plenty of nostalgic photographs of young boys from a much earlier time period, along with articles dealing with the death of Mickey Mantle in addition to more recent heroes such as Cal Ripken. The book also contains listings of favorite baseball books, earlier stadiums, baseball movies, and interesting quotations dealing with the game. I wouldn't call the book a classic by any means, but as a book for children to cultivate their interest in the game's history I would highly recommend this book.

As baseball season opens and Father's Day draws near, you might want to give serious consideration to getting your dad or favorite baseball fan this little book. It takes readers on a sentimental journey of how special the sport is to the author. You share his enchantment reliving great moments in sports history and the enjoyment of introducing his children to a beloved passtime. Trivia and suggestions to enhance one's enjoyment are given throughout, and drawings worthy of Thomas Kinkade or Sandra Kluck bring the book to vivid life.

Billy enjoys a simple life as a cork, spending his days hanging around with his friends Frankie, the football, B-Ball the basketball, Doc the medicine ball and a golf ball named Nick. Billy dreams of great things but his friends all believe that that is all there is to it: dreams. Then one day the life of this little cork is changed dramatically. In an exciting turn of events, Billy goes from being just another cork in a factory to being proudly displayed in a new home: the Baseball Hall of Fame. Children of all ages are invited to travel with Billy on his journey in Life's a Ball with Billy Baseball by Mark Cervasio.

Readers will share in Billy's initial trepidation, his wonder and excitement along his incredible yet realistic journey. Told from the point of view of the baseball, this is an attention grabbing story filled with information for the young (and not so young) baseball fan. Facts about the weight of major league baseballs, their circumference, the number of stitches they boast and how long their baseball career lasts are all effortlessly weaved through the narrative. Fans will learn interesting facts about how balls are transported, inspected and used as well as a very interesting tidbit involving New Jersey mud.

This is a great book. Young audiences enjoy hearing the story from a unique perspective and are captivated by the story and the accompanying illustrations. Adults will appreciate the wealth of information, easily understood due to the simplicity of the book.

Baseball fans old and young alike will want this colorful and fun book on their library shelves.

Written by baseball enthusiast Mark Cervasio, Life's a Ball with Billy the Baseball is more than a picturebook; it's the amazing true story of how baseballs are made and what they're made of, down to the number of stitches used and how much they weigh. Told from the point of view of a cheerful, animated baseball, Life's a Ball with Billy the Baseball follows the perky Billy from his creation in a small round cork factory to his life in the major leagues to an unexpected home run that earns him a place in the Baseball Hall of Fame. Cheery, colorful illustrations pepper this delightful picturebook especially recommended for young sports enthusiasts.

Mark Cervasio delivers a solid juvenile book about the life and high-flying times of a baseball in the Major League Baseball arena. The book is called LIFE'S A BALL WITH BILLY THE BASEBALL.

Marketed for young readers, the book includes a lot of facts about how baseballs are made and trivia details (such as the fact that 108 red stitches sew the skin onto the baseball). He takes the baseball's life from the beginning as a cork through the whole process of becoming a ball.

Told from Billy the Baseball's point of view, the narrative is humorous as well as easily understood by young readers. The underdog quality of Billy's plight (the fact that he would like to grow up to be a big league ball and doesn't know if he's going to be good enough to make it) is going to resonate with any Little Leaguer starting out in the game.

The book is illustrated by Jim McWeeney. The pictures are vibrantly colored and reflect the fun stylings of the book.

However, there is a point in the book where Billy hits the ground and the umpire passes him for play that strains the credulity of MLB fans. On average, going by current numbers, several dozen baseballs are used in every game. Generally if a ball touches the ground, it's gone.

Cervasio's book will be a fun, factual and entertaining read for young players and older fans of the sport who want to share their love. It's a good beginning point for those readers until they start to want to read about the heroes in the game.

My [...]son loves these books,he likes to read them over & over.
they are stories that can keep a boys intrest and the fun activities will keep them busy as well

My kids love the illustrations and the stories are easy and fun for them to read.

These early-reader sets are wonderful! They are easy for my son to read and he loves the familiarity of the characters. They are also interesting and funny, which keeps him motivated to finish the whole book. Each book also contains reading activities at the end to reinforce learning. I would highly recommend these books to Little Critter lovers!

`Lobel's Meat and Wine' by Stanley, Leon, Evan, Mark, and David Lobel (of Lobel's Meats in upper East side Manhattan) plus Mary Goodbody and David Whiteman totally reversed my negative attitude toward `cooking with wine' books, and has seriously brought into question my review of the Lobel's earlier book, `Lobel's Prime Cuts'.

For starters, it is perfectly obvious to limit a book on wine cookery to meats (including poultry and game meats), as wine is simply not an important player in cooking practically everything else, including finfish and shellfish.

But the main interest is perfectly stated in David Rosengarten's Foreword where he says the two introductory chapters, `How to Choose Food-Friendly Wines' and `Cooking with Meat and Wine in Today's Kitchen' are simply worth the price of the book all by themselves. The best part of the first chapter is that it describes wines for the total novice, like me. It also tickles me to see it treat with importance one of the very few corners of wine knowledge I happen to have visited, that being the wines of Austria, which are famous for their very young, green, almost raw white wines.

The heart of the whole book is the second of these two chapters, which is nothing less than a monograph reporting on a series of cooking experiments varying wine cooking with various different styles of dishes. I am impressed that the authors say that even they were surprised by some of the results based on time-honored techniques.

After these groundbreaking findings are eight (8) chapters of recipes with the usual categories of meat and poultry recipes. Just another little touch to make this book even better is the fact that all recipes are listed after the chapter title page. These chapters are:

Beef (15 recipes) with a fair selection of all our favorite beef and wine classics such as `Beef in the Style of Burgundy' and `Hungarian Beef Goulash'. The authors go the extra mile in providing a superior recipe for making classic Hungarian dumplings to go along with this dish. As in all the other chapters, the authors are not claiming these are all `classic' or `traditional' recipes, since some traditional ingredients may be left out here and there, but they are all close, as far as I can see.

Veal (9 recipes) including classic Roman `Veal Scallopini with Prosciutto and Sage' and `Traditional Milanese-Style Braised Veal Shanks'.

Pork (10 Recipes) including `Pork Cutlets with Apples, Onions, and Marjoram' and `Medallions of Pork with Prunes in the Style of the Loire Valley'.

Lamb (12 Recipes) including `Marinated Greek-Style Lamb Kabobs and `Rioja-Style Grilled Lamb Chops'.

Chicken and Rabbit (13 Recipes) including `Classic Chicken in Red Wine' and `Portuguese-Style Jugged Chicken'.

Game Birds and Other Game (7 recipes) including `Venison Stew with Grappa-Herbed Cream' and `Squab with Sweet Tuscan Wine Sauce'.

Organ and Mixed Meats (6 Recipes) including `Tuscan Style Meat Loaf' and `Madrid-Style Tripe with Oxtail and Chorizo'.

Stocks and Seasoning Pastes (9 recipes) including `Portuguese Style Hot Red Pepper Paste' and `Italian Style Lard Paste'.

As should be evident from this selection of recipe names, almost all recipes come from French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, or Greek roots, the homelands of ancient viniculture. I'm just a bit surprised that there are not more recipes from Germany or other parts of `Mitteleuropa'. In reading the recipes, it is also apparent that without even mentioning this principle, the authors almost always follow the hoary old French principle of `terroir', or pairing wines and principle ingredients from the same location.

While these recipes may not be `authentic', most of them are so well known, you will not have any trouble tracking down more authentic versions in your well-worn copies of Julia Child, Paula Wolfert, Penelope Casas, Diane Kochilas, or Elizabeth David. And, you will be well prepared to improvise on and improve any wine choices these venerable authors made for their versions of these dishes.

While this book is a great addition to any carnivore's culinary library, it is not a complete meat cookery book. For that, I suggest either Aidells and Kelly's `The Complete Meat Cookbook' or Schlesinger and Willoughby's `How to Cook Meat'. For poultry, see `Cook's Illustrated's `The Complete Book of Chicken'.

An excellent read and collection of recipes for any serious cook!

"Lobel's Meat and Wine: Great Recipes for Cooking and Pairing" comes from the Lobel family of New York, purveyors of meats. Their knowledge allows for more than just another meat cookbook: "Lobel's Meat and Wine" covers all the basics, ranging from if one should marinate before cooking meat, to understanding how salt affects meat flavorings, to what happens during browning. Additionally, this basic knowledge is accompanied with fail-safe, tested recipes paired with detailed wine notes . Add color photos throughout and you have a winner any public lending library will want and one which would grace any dedicated kitchen cook's personal reference collection.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

This is a very interesting book to read and play with, especially since there is such a dearth of books that advise on food / wine pairings beyond simple colors. This book not only recommends kinds of wines, but explains the why and how of it - additionally, most of the recipes - almost all of them - include wine as an ingredient.

This is a big book, and it can lay flat, which is also a plus. It's really a sort of hybrid cookbook, recipes along with advice and a crash course in wine.

Of course, it's all about cooking meat, so your results will be directly proportionate to the quality of the cut of meat that you use. Reading these recipes, it's obvious that a better cut will pay off in preparation.

I would have liked more pictures, though, as there are only about four or five per chapter, although they are full color and full page. I just like to see what i'm aiming for, and my girlfriend likes looking at good food photos too (her English isn't so good, so the pictures help even more). Still, it's a minor niggle compared to the quality of this oversized hardcover, and it is highly recommended for more serious kitchen cooks - I wouldn't recommend it for a straight up beginner, though.

I had never read any of Margaret Ball's books when I found this at our local bookstore. I thought the cover looked neat and that the synopsis sounded interesting. I read this book in 2 hours! It was fast-paced and had great charcters!

I found this at the library and I loved it. It's fun, exciting, and original. I wish I could be more specific but I haven't read it in a while (the library's copy went missing and it's hard to find out-of-print books). Trust me though, it's worth the search.

____________________________________________
Allie, a drifty California college student, is fighting with her dad over her faltering education, and a boyfriend that Dad doesn't like. He's planning to send her to a college in France -- but she somehow ends up in the Coindra College of Magical Arts, which is considerably further away. Hijinks ensue.

"B-", enjoyable but slight. I picked it up because an aquaintance recommended it. Regular fantasy readers are likely to enjoy it more than I did.

Note that the author is Margaret Ball. For a stronger Ball novel, I recommend trying FLAMEWEAVER, an alt-hist with magic in Central Asia & China, atmospheric and quite good.   "A-/B+"

Happy reading--
Pete Tillman

R.H. Lewis has given children a wonderful tale of coming of age in mid-nineteenth century Massachusetts in a classic context of good and evil.

Charlotte (Lottie) Little takes possession of a gazing ball with amazing powers. The ball has passed down through generations of her mother's family. When Lottie first receives the ball as a Christmas gift shortly after the mysterious disappearance of her father, she does not fully realize the terrible responsibility that ownership confers. She must deal with incarnate evil in the terrifying Malignigh (evil is near?) and the demonic Rudolph who holds a ball with similar powers.

In this struggle of good and evil. Lottie, with small courageous steps, learns how to use her special powers; at the same time she learns how to deal with potent human emotions: grief and sorrow at the loss of her father, and the tumult of becoming a young woman and feeling the first stirrings of love for a young man.

Lewis tells the story simply while building deepening tensions, both within Lottie, and between Lottie's family and the forces of evil. These tensions peak with the powerful confrontation between good and evil deep in the Berkshire hills

Lewis' clear writing, good character development and gripping story will keep children 8 and older enthralled. My two grandchildren read it in a day and were glad (as was I) to hear that this was only the first in a series. Look for Lottie Little: the Snow Ghosts, at the end of 2007.

With twentieth century language set in a bygone era, Richard Lewis manages to convey an other world fantasy complete with magic, heroes, friends and evildoers. Lottie, the keeper of The Amazing Gazing Ball, leads us on an adventure, a journey into the unknown realms of good and evil where she not only confronts her own worst fears, but also explores the nature of innocent love.

This memorable tale has something to reveal to children of all ages and will make excellent bedtime story telling because the chapters are brief and keep the suspense moving. Mr. Lewis's vivid imagination will leave children wide-eyed and wanting more. It cleverly compels one's own imagination without bogging us down in detail. The kids I've tested it on give it a thumbs up.

Lottie Little is an action packed visit to New England in the mid-ninteenth century coupled with gripping fantasy where good triumps over evil.
Fans of Harry Potter fans will love Lottie Little!

My husband is a little leage coach and he is enjoying the book very much.

If you are looking for a couple of new drills for the little league ages, this book give you some good ideas to add some fun to practice.

My son is in tee ball so I purchased this book as well as its predecessor for tee ball. This book was very useful and had some interesting drills for young children. I recommend this book for anyone with a child who has an interest in baseball.