Barrett Books

This book reveals the greatness of this plane that was developed before the war and the amazing feats that was accomplished with it and the men who flew them.Often used successfully as a fighter against the Japanese Air Force.This plane built by Douglas Aviation Co along with the Grumman F4F Wild cat kept us in the battle the 1st year of the war until more modern planes were produced, Having flown many hours of patroling as a crew member in this plane I can vouch for it's authenticity.An excellent and well written book.

This book does not attempt to astound the reader with lots of hyperbole. Instead it takes a simple, down to earth approach to to the history of an airplane, and it's pilots who did astounding things. The book is not dry, nor is it filled with exaggeration: it is not too hot, or too cold. "The Dauntless Dive Bomber of World War II" is just right.

This book is THE be all/end all source for the Dauntless. Mr. Tillman has once again put together an outstanding historical tribute to this fascinating war machine and the crews that operated her. I cannot express enough how important this book is on a very important player in the history of aviation and one's bravery.

I picked this book up at a yard sale. I can't believe I hadn't heard of it before, but suffice to say, it was a page turner. It chronicles the exploits of a young dive bomber pilot, from the beginning of WWII to the Guadalcanal campaign.

I loved it so much, I ordered the sequel directly from Amazon.

Mr. Tillman, where is the third book?

Barrett Tillman is uniquely qualified to write this very exciting and authentic historical novel, which is far above the typical techno-thriller. And the author's comment is correct: the Kirkus Review does totally miss the point - scared but plucky young aviators are not inserted as a stock literary device, but because that's precisely who fought these titanic Pacific clashes. The true life heroism and sacrifice so well depicted is probably just incomprehensible to many "elites" today. Tillman is far more sympathetic in describing his Japanese sailors than most war authors, and is fair to the brave young men on both sides. Most of all, this is a great read - engrossing and informative.

When I read both "Dauntless" and Barrett Tillman's follow on novel "Hellcat". I could almost smell the distinct odor that permeates a warship. A mixture of lube oil, ozone and red lead paint that I have only smelled aboard US Navy ships. From my vantage point of having spent a large portion of my adult life aboard aircraft carriers, from the mid 60s through 1990, I can say Tillman has captured the feel of the ship. Barrett Tillman has the unique ability to take those tactile and emotional cues and pack them into the pages of the book. There are several excelent books that tell stories of the battles of Coral Sea, Midway and the Eastern Solomons from the historian's point of view, but Tillman tells you what it must have felt like to be there. Tillman knows his subject matter. He restored and flew a WWII Dauntless. He has spent a great amount of time with the men who fought these battles. I suspect that, the reason his books have the feel of being there is that Tillman is an expert at pulling that out of these vets and alowing the rest of us to experiance what they experianced. He transmits the excitement of being in a dangerous situation, and the fear of seeing the thing that might end your own life. He has captured the terible feeling of loss, when you know a friend is gone for ever. The only thing I don't like about "Dauntless" is that it's out of print! I can't see why "Dauntless" isn't still on the shelves. I had to really search for it. When I found it, I found my self saying, "just one more page" at 3AM. Some publisher is missing a good bet here.

Ms. Barrett's other cookbook "Morning Glories" expands into the realm of breakfast, brunch and beverages with the same style and grace as Desserts from an Herb Garden--add them to your cookbook collection, and you'll definitely be inspired to add some sort of container or window garden to take advantage of all her yummy recipes. Keep it up! More more more!

This book is a treasure of unusual tastes and ideas in simple, well written recipes that even a beginning chef can master. Each recipe is described in mouth-watering language inviting the reader to venture on into its production. The recipes that I have tried have been simple to follow and have turned out as I expected. These are really different tastes for your palate - a welcome change from standard dessert fare, and a delight to everyone. If you are not currently growing herbs, this book will spur you on to consider this possibility - even in a window garden - yet the book takes into account what herbs are available routinely in the supermarket for readers who are not ready to grow their food. If you are looking for some unique desserts to try, this book is a MUST! We can only hope the author is working on other "courses" using herbs for her future offerings.

This collection of recipes is more than a "cookbook." Ms Barrett is also a gentle teacher whose knowledge of the garden as well as the kitchen makes her book interesting and eminently readable. Oh, and do fresh herbs make a more exciting dessert? Cilantro Peach Cobbler! Ole, ya'll!!

This encyclopedia is a monumental reference work that addresses the broad interest in Christianity and religion around the world today. Comprehensive, up to date, reflecting the highest standards in scholarship yet intended for a wide range of readers, it describes the Christian faith and community in their myriad forms today and throughout the 2,000 years of Christian history. It also looks outward beyond Christianity, considering other world religions and philosophies as it paints the overall religious and socio-cultural picture in which the Christian church now finds itself in the new millennium. Written by leading scholars from many countries and cultural backgrounds, the more than 1,700 articles depict Christianity in its global context. Separate articles for every continent and for over 170 countries examine both the history and the current situation of the Christian faith worldwide. The book portrays Christianity in its widest ecumenical context. Major articles detail Christianity's rich spiritual and theological diversity in order to inform readers about religious traditions and perspectives beyond their own ecclesiastical frameworks. In its portrayal of Christianity, this encyclopedia also takes into account the current socio-cultural context, including other world religions, secular philosophies, cultural trends, and modern political and economic forces. Covering such current topics as abortion, atheism, Islam, modernity, and psychoanalysis, these articles describe the multifarious settings in which the Christian church today must maintain a credible witness to the ancient gospel. Finally, the encyclopedia presents Christianity in its rich historical context, starting with the biblical tradition and showing how the apostolic tradition developed and how the church has sought throughout history to keep faith with its traditions while engaging the world around it. Volume 4 contains 299 articles constituting the alphabetical entries P-Sh-articles on significant topics ranging from Paul, process theology, and the Qur'an to religious liberty, salvation history, and scholasticism. Like each volume in the complete encyclopedia, this book incorporates many enhancements of and additions to the third revised edition of the German Evangelisches Kirchenlexikon: Internationale theologische Enzyklopädie, on which this encyclopedia is based. Among the features of this English work are the following:
· articles on all but the smallest countries of the world, including former communist states that have gained their independence since 1989;
· the latest, best statistical information, compiled by David B. Barrett, on the religious affiliation and ecclesiastical breakdown of each country and continent;
· the addition of over seventy biographical articles on prominent figures throughout church history; and
· many expanded or entirely new articles that address topics of particular interest to English-speaking readers. Unparalleled in scholarship and breadth of content, the Encyclopedia of Christianity will long serve as the standard reference work for the study of Christianity in the past and the present-and its trajectory into the twenty-first century.

I'm a parish pastor, and spending over a hundred dollars for one reference book better be worth it. It is. Volume One contains 465 articles (alphabetically from A-D). Topics of current interest include "Abortion" and "Abortion Counseling" and "Black Churches." Information on most of the world's countries and the latest statistics are at my fingertips. Although the encyclopedia is based upon a massive German publication, this edition is written in American English. In my opinion, many of the articles would be useful for high school students and Sunday School teachers. I'm going to put Vol. 2 on my next Christmas "wish" list.

Every pastor and every lay person actively involved in the pastoral care of others in the life of the church should have this book on their near shelf for easy reference. It is an excellent resource - I especially enjoyed the variety of articles, some long and some short. Wide ranging topics - from "psychodrama" to "alcoholism", from "spiritual direction" to "retirement", it seems that nothing is left out. All articles appear to be well researched from a variety of fields, giving the reader a sense of the deep reliability and relevance of this truly interdisciplinary project. Useful!!!

My daughter just loves this book. She has so much fun learning the parts of her face. She did not appear to be confused by the first page with baby and blue touching nose to nose. She touched her nose to the page along with baby and blue.

I got this book for my daughter when she was about a year old. She loved it and asked for it over several months. She loved pointing to her nose, eyes, and mouth, and playing 'peekaboo' with Blue on the last page. I don't recall any confusion regarding nose and mouth. The book was interactive enough to be a real hit at the early toddler stage, plus it reinforced some very basic body vocabulary words.

We have been showing books to our baby since he was born. Now at one year this title continues to be a favorite. He smiles and turns the pages and is reaching for his nose. The baby picures along with Blue are cute. The pages turn easily for baby fingers.

this book is sensitively written and full of fascinating details, which bring the history alive.

Many years ago, when doing research for my graduate thesis on those heroic Jews who went to fight Hitlerism in Spain, I came across the name of Larry Cane. While I was able to make contact with many vets in the Lincoln Battalion, sad to say, Mr. Cane had passed on before I had a chance to contact him. His obituary told of his valor, and of his idealism, and while he was, yes, a member of the Communist Party USA while in Spain and serving heroically in the United States Army in World War II, Larry Cane had the intellectual honesty to walk away from the horrendous Stalinist sewer once he was aware of its true evil.

His son is to be profusely thanked for releasing this correspondence of a man - yes, a Leftist, but whose Jewish background, perhaps even more so than his CP affiliation, made this man - a decision to fight evil and oppression and believe in the unity of all mankind. Cane writes movingly of the D-Day Battle, of coming across emanciated Jewish concentration camp survivors in Germany, of his pride in America, of being a Jew, and yes, of being a Communist and pride in the Soviet Union as the ally that it was (of course then being unaware of what a murderous fascist Joe Stalin really was). He writes of the common soldiers that he served alongside with, and there is correspondence from some of them that attest to Cane's own bravery in battle. And he writes of his love of his family and of the baby son who now has been able to bring this unique correspondence to publication.

Larry Cane earned the Silver Star and a Battlefield Commission to the rank of Captain in the United States Army for his heroism on the battlefields of France after D-Day, and for his role in helping to smash the Hitlerian evil. A worthy read for all Americans interested in our "Greatest Generation" - and in the unique experiences of those who bravely chose to fight Hitlerism in Spain before the world recognized what was at stake for all mankind.

This book kept my interest cover to cover. Lawrence Cane is obviously the epitome of a soldier and family man, the essense of the American service man in W.W. 2. From basic training thru the occupation of Germany,he was a man who had not only to fight for his place in the war ,but then to fight the war from the first wave to hit the beach on Normandy,to the liberation of the concentration camps, to time spent in the rebuilding of Germany in Eisleben.

I found this book buried among a bunch of unread books during a recent move and did not even recall buying it. The cover and title caught my attention so I started to read it and could not put it down. The main character, Susan Given, a DA, was interesting to say the least. She is on the edge of a breakdown, more than likely from being overworked, and decides to take a friend up on a vacation offer. She ends up on an island where she befriends a native named Ascension, only to bear witness to his killing weeks later. She returns home to NYC, only to have to end up dealing with the same people from the island in the long run. While I felt that a little too neat and convenient as far as storylines go, I did find it ingenious. Susan has to deal with an impending divorce, an overzealous boss, raging hormones in her two daughters, an oversexed niece, and an array of other problems all at once, including a serial killer aptly named Rice Krispies. I would definitely read another "Given" mystery and plan to order Given the Crime right now.

Ten weeks have passed since Susan Given, head of the Manhattan District Attorney's Asset Forfeiture Division, barely survived a harrowing experience (see GIVEN THE CRIME) that would have broken a lesser person. Still, every evening Susan suffers from a recurring nightmare in which a hulk tries to kill her. Her former spouse, TV psychiatrist Dr. Hugh Carver, adds to her problems when he threatens her with a custody suit. Realizing that his star attorney is not quite the same. Manhattan DA Bill Archibald arranges for Susan to meet with psychiatrist, Dr. Imogen Blythe, who blithely tells Susan that she needs a vaation.

Susan flies to the Caribbean island of St. Stephens. However, Susan's idyll vacation goes astray when she becomes lost while parasailing. However, worse yet is that she crash lands near where the local drug lord, Crimson, is taking care of business. Feeling that she is a witness to a murder, he plans to kill her, but she is rescued before he can carry out the deed. Susan leaves paradise for the safe environs of Manhattan, not knowing that Crimson plans to follow her in order to silence the only person he believes who can destroy his empire.

GIVEN THE EVIDENCE, with the second appearance of Susan Given, is an exciting tale that blends elements from the legal procedural with that of a thriller. The story line is fast-paced on both islands and the support cast has fully developed characters. However, Susan is the show as her fears and motivations propel the novel forward in a jocular but dire manner. Margaret Barrett and Charles Dennis have the beginnings of what is hopefully a long running series.

Harriet Klausner

Ten weeks have passed since Susan Given, head of the Manhattan District Attorney's Asset Forfeiture Division, barely survived a harrowing experience (see GIVEN THE CRIME) that would have broken a lesser person. Still, every evening Susan suffers from a recurring nightmare in which a hulk tries to kill her. Her former spouse, TV psychiatrist Dr. Hugh Carver, adds to her problems when he threatens her with a custody suit. Realizing that his star attorney is not quite the same. Manhattan DA Bill Archibald arranges for Susan to meet with psychiatrist, Dr. Imogen Blythe, who blithely tells Susan that she needs a vaation.

Susan flies to the Caribbean island of St. Stephens. However, Susan's idyll vacation goes astray when she becomes lost while parasailing. However, worse yet is that she crash lands near where the local drug lord, Crimson, is taking care of business. Feeling that she is a witness to a murder, he plans to kill her, but she is rescued before he can carry out the deed. Susan leaves paradise for the safe environs of Manhattan, not knowing that Crimson plans to follow her in order to silence the only person he believes who can destroy his empire.

GIVEN THE EVIDENCE, with the second appearance of Susan Given, is an exciting tale that blends elements from the legal procedural with that of a thriller. The story line is fast-paced on both islands and the support cast has fully developed characters. However, Susan is the show as her fears and motivations propel the novel forward in a jocular but dire manner. Margaret Barrett and Charles Dennis have the beginnings of what is hopefully a long running series.

Harriet Klausner

This is poetry with a flair! Most set in Thailand and the rest about other places and other things. The ballads are a blast esp. Noy of the Horny Toad. Bukowski would have loved it.

I almost didn't buy this book as I thought it might be too superficial but although it is uneven (it would have to be given the number of styles the author uses) most of the poems are very well written, some are moving, and some are very humorous. The one on fates of writers (mostly suicides) is interesting and poems on Thailand show the author's knowledge of and love for the country. Not all pieces are poems, but all are thoughtful and well written. If you like irreverent poetry, try this - you'll be glad you did.

This book of poetry and ballads is as the back cover says a lot of fun but there is also a lot of skill in the execution of many of the poems. Some are actually lyrics for songs and a few of these are quite moving. Just a bit over half are on Thailand and some of the others like I Had A Kid Brother are not poems that anybody will soon forget. Excellent and not only for Thailand lovers!

This little gem is so full of useful information it puts the other books I have on lavender to shame. Not only does it discuss the many varieties of lavender and their history and growing wants/needs. But one learns how to propagate, trim and use the various lavenders be it in bath items or medicinally, cooking or as gifts. I grow lavender and make various things from the plants but really want to try making the 'Net sachets' shown on page 24 which are gorgeous!

This summer I planted 80 lavender plants in honor of my mom who recently passed away. This book has been a major part of the success my garden has achieved, with 2 harvestings of lavender to date. An excellent resource and inspiration for how to grow and use lavender

This is a brief bulletin of information but still quite helpful. Ms. Barrett touches on the types, the maintenance and the uses of lavender. It's a small book, but I found tips and recipes in here that were missing in other lavender books. It's plain and simple, short and sweet. A very good basic reference book.

In 2002 noted aviation author Barrett Tillman wrote ABOVE AND BEYOND: THE AVIATION MEDALS OF HONOR which related the heroic deeds of U.S. Air Force MoH recipients. HEROES, published in 2006, pays tribute to U.S. Army soldiers who were likewise awarded the Medal of Honor. As with the previous book, HEROES is a fascinating, well-written and inspiring memorial to some incredibly brave warriors.

The Medal of Honor story is fascinating not only for heroic deeds but also the somewhat tortured development of the Medal itself. The Medal of Honor dates from Civil War times. In separate chapters Tillman relates representative MoH actions from the Civil War, the Indian campaigns, the Spanish-American War and other 'wars of expansion,' World War I, WWII, Korea, Vietnam and recent conflicts in Somalia and Afghanistan. Over 2,300 men received the MoH; Tillman chronicles 100 of that total. He deliberately focuses on lesser-known recipients while briefly touching on Alvin York, Audie Murphy, etc.

Yet the backstory of the Medal is just as fascinating. Over the years the criteria for being awarded the Medal has evolved. Some early awards, such as those given to an entire Union Army regiment for extending their enlistment, were patently undeserved. Others, such as that given to Douglas MacArthur, were political in nature. Still others, such as those awarded to Teddy Roosevelt in 1898 and, 45 years later, to his son for his actions on D-Day, are questionable. Their actions objectively don't fulfill the 'Above and Beyond' criteria of the Medal. Rather both men's actions reflect Commanding Officers doing what they are paid to do.

Tillman does a marvelous job of weaving the combat narratives and beyond-the-scenes machinations into a smooth-flowing narrative. Reading HEROES leaves one with feelings of amazement, sometimes sadness and pride. HEROES is a must-read for all Americans.

*****
N.B. Hopefully volumes on U.S. Navy and Marine Corps recipients are in the works.

Heroes: U.S. Army Medal Of Honor Recipients provides a fine collection of battle stories behind the 100 Army Corps Medal Of Honor winners, pairing these stories with over a hundred photos and providing a military history which will please a wide audience. The Medal of Honor is awarded for outstanding courage and sacrifice in combat, and is the greatest honor awarded to a soldier: their stories are vividly brought to life here.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

Barrett Tillmans review of 600 some Medal of Honor recipients brings the reality of war home to even the most jaded reader.

This is war.

Not like you have seen on television, or any movie (not even Platoon). To read page after page of one paragraph descriptions of mortal combat is a very chilling experience. Mens lives reduced to a few words by the sheer number of MOH recipients. A common theme is revealed. Men fight for their fellow men. And they surrender their lives for them. The author documents that depending on war and theater, between 1/2 and 2/3 of recipeints who recieved the MOH did so postumously.

In Tillman's book, the MOH recipients are divided by theater of operation and war. Yet they are remarkably similar men.

The hand grenade plays an important part in this story. Many men were so close to the enemy that they exchanged not gun shots but grenades. A chilling book that will bring the reality of close quarters combat into your living room.