Bartholomew Books

Saw this book in Barnes and Noble and ordered it from you but I evidently did not look at it closely enough. I am an experienced knitter but not one that can figure out yardage probably because I have never had to do it. My local knit shop could possibly help but I would much rather the amounts were listed in the pattern. Also Kitty looks like she is a size 4 and is used to designing sweaters for herself but come on give the rest of us a break. I am a size 8-10 but since these designs are made to fit exactly to buy expensive yarn combos and not know how much to buy is asking for trouble and a waste of good money.

Kitty Bartholomew's, "Designer Knitting," has wonderful pictures that
clearly allow you to appreciate the completed design. What is appalling
is that Bartholomew does not indicate the amount of yarn required for any of the many sweater options given. In addition, most of the patterns have a guage of 2.5-3 stitches with the yarn doubled. Completely frustrating! Bartholomew admits she isn't sure about the yarn because much of it was bought in the United States or abroad. Although the designs and use of color are pleasing - I think presenting a pattern book without giving a clue as to how to figure out how much yarn you need is irresponsible. This is the worse pattern book I have every purchased. In addition, she suggests finding someone and paying to have the sweater finished b/c she doesn't like sewing the seams.
E. LeFebvre

Kitty Bartholomew has put together a lovely collection of sweaters that will inspire just about everyone to want to knit at least one. Her designs are classic, guaranteed to work for every figure and every age group. I especially love her discussion of the type of yarns to consider and her encouragement that you can knit something that fits! I plan on knitting several of her designs, and can hardly wait to take her book with me to my local yarn shop and get started. I have purchased several pattern books recently, and this is one I keep coming back to again and again for inspiration.

I am so disapointed in this book when it came in the mail. This book is strictly eye candy. There is no functional good way to come up with yardage, and she supplies absolutely none. There are no charts, No graphs for assistance, unless you are an expert knitter, and even then you are left guessing. How can you name a book "Designer Knitting" when when there are no designs or graphs? I would not recommend this book, period.

This is a beautifully laid out book, and I loved Kitty's chioces of yarn combinations. However,I was quite surprised and disappointed to see that no yardage requirements were given. This is the first knitting book that I have purchased that omits these, and I own over a hundred of them.

Fans of Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum Series may also enjoy the Strip Series by Nancy Bartholomew. Sierra Lavotini is an exotic dancer (yes, a stripper) with a great heart and great attitude. Together with her chihuahua Fluffy and her crazy neighbor Raydean she's on a hunt to find a missing dog and a missing friend.

Sierra need more character development but it's a good first novel. Good enough for me to continue the series.

In the spirit of Janet Evanovich, the "Strip" series by Nancy Batholomew is laugh out loud fun. Not unlike Evanovich's Plum series, Nancy's writing improves with each book in the series and I was addicted after #2. The heroine Sierra Lavotini is a "real woman" not some overdone dream woman, women of any age can relate to Sierra. If you want a book that you don't have to think too much about, that simply allows you to escape through humor, this is a great series of books. ****

Fans of more skillful Florida mysteries such as those by John D. MacDonald or Carl Hiaasen will be left wanting by this tepid first novel by Nancy Bartholomew. Her Philly-born exotic dancer heroine, Sierra Lavotini, is a mass of contradictions, but for all the facets Bartholomew tries to build into her, she remains a warmed-over knock-off of Hiaasen's sleuthing stripper from . Sierra's poor English makes for a distracting narrative voice and, unfortunately, Panama City is never more than a flat backdrop for the plot, which could just as easily be set in Myrtle Beach, Padre Island, Daytona Beach, or any one of a number of other southern spring break venues.

A lot of comparisons were being made between this series and the Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich. While there are some similarities, this book didn't quite grab me like an Evanovich book.....which I will normally read in one setting! Sierra's poor use of the English language was very distracting to me as a reader. I guess my English teachers pounded certain rules into my head a little too much!

As a first book, Miracle Strip is not horrible, but it would not compel me to buy another book in the series. The protagonist, stripper Sierra Lavotini, never seems to have justifiable motivation for her actions. She recklessly starts investigating the disappearance of her friend, even when it becomes clear that her friend has been lying to her and has been mixed up in some sort of drug deal gone wrong. Like some hardboiled PI, she never tells the police all she knows, although her motivation for witholding information is never clear. She does one stupid thing after another and you can't figure out what she has to gain by acting like that. The book was made more irritating because Sierra, the narrator, uses poor grammar on an infrequent enough basis that it just seems like a narrative trick, to make her background more "real." The portrayal of Sierra as a stripper didn't ring true, and the strip club is too abstract and uninvolving. Nevertheless, as the author polishes her craft this series may turn into something really worthwhile.

This is the first in a long series of books with Chief Inspector McGarr, based in Dublin after a long career with Interpol. This book focuses on Ireland's relationship with the IRA, and is quite interesting. The capabilities of master cop McGarr are also impressive. The story was well crafted, although there isn't much of a mystery involved. I am looking forward to see if that improves in later books in the series.

Bartholomew Gill's Death of an Irish Politician follows Chief Inspector Peter McGarr as he tries to solve a seemingly simple assault case. Yet, in the developing complexity of the crime, a social commentary of the political instability of Ireland develops rather vividly. The novel infuses Ireland's political, social and religious issues prevalent in society into a seemingly everyday account of people's private lives, which in turn leads to an understanding for an American reader of how deeply ingrained in everyday life these problems are. McGarr himself tries to be a non-political figure who just wants to perform his duties as Chief Investigator fairly and professionally; yet, he finds himself unavoidably entwined with the IRA and the Minister for Justice, a prominent political official, who threatens his future. Instead of yielding to the power that threatens him, McGarr plays the "game" in return. Gill, through McGarr, is trying to illustrate a successful pattern of dealing with the potentially destructive power structures in the Irish society, especially considering that "The Death" in the novel is not a traditional reference to murder typical of a mystery plot, but rather a metaphor for man's destructive nature of holding on to high ideals, especially when flexibility is needed. While initially the plot development is a bit slow, once it gains momentum Gill does write an engaging, and in the end, dramatic mystery novel.

Originally published in 1977, Gill's first novel (originally entitled McGarr and the Politician's Wife) may be particularly interesting to those who are already familiar with the series about Peter McGarr, Chief Superintendent of Detectives of the Garda Soichana, and his staff. Although Gill writes a competent mystery and introduces all the characters who become so familiar to fans of his later McGarr mysteries, he is clearly feeling his way here as he decides how to develop them and his plots. The character quirks and foibles we take for granted in the later novels are just hinted at here, the character of McGarr is outlined but not fully developed, and the role of Noreen, McGarr's wife, and her involvement in his career are much stronger here.

The mystery is straightforward. When a battered, unconscious, and nearly drowned boat captain is pulled from shallow water at the Killiney Bay Yacht Club, McGarr and his staff--Hugh Ward, Liam O'Shaughnessy, Bernie McKeon, and others who become regulars in the series--find themselves involved in a mystery involving a politician, his promiscuous wife, the influence of the IRA on local politics, gun-smuggling from the U.S., and plots to discredit McGarr. The mystery is not very complex, and some readers may find that their primary interest is in seeing how Gill develops and presents his plot here, as opposed to his later, more fully developed novels.

Unlike the much smoother and subtler style in the later novels, Gill's foreshadowing here is still a bit clumsy. ("Very shortly, McGarr would need every friend inside the Castle he could muster.") He sometimes states the obvious: "The stakes [McGarr] was gambling with were his reputation, career and spotless criminal record." He tells the reader what is important, rather than letting the reader discover for himself: "Little could Hubbard have known how important the play was to McGarr."

The wry and sometimes dark humor which we take for granted in the later novels are not much in evidence here, while the wild flights of Irish good spirits and camaraderie, and the fine description which gives color and depth to the Irish settings, while present in a few scenes, are not yet fully incorporated. The novel may fascinate long-time fans of the series who want see how the series started, while newcomers may prefer to start with one of the later novels, such as Death of a Joyce Scholar. Mary Whipple

Gill's novel ostensibly confronts the Irish 'Troubles' and the dynamic between the Irish government and Republican elements quite deftly. Chief Inspector of Detectives Peter McGarr maneuvers between radical and non-radical elements in modern Ireland, realizing that in a country as politically charged as modern Ireland, alienating any party today could result in difficulties in the future.

As far as traditional detective novel structures go, Gill constructs McGarr as the traditional analytical detective, with his sensible wife as his loyal assistant. The plot is fairly compelling, although the ending seems unnecessarily drawn out. The most intriguing aspect of the novel is the position of McGarr with respect to Ireland itself. McGarr has established himself as a renowned international detective, but his reputation - or at least the level to which he is accepted - has yet to be established in his native country. As Gill notes, "he had spent far too long as an exile in other people's countries, enforcing other people's laws, and waiting for the right vacancy back home." While the plot was not especially engaging, I found McGarr's attempts to gain acceptance indicative of the struggles faced by many Irish expatriates who returned to their home country in the late twentieth century. Indeed, I actually wished that Gill had focused even more attention on this point, although I do appreciate his subtlety. I liked this novel as a quick read that deals with social undercurrents with a great deal of sophistication. I imagine that, if I read further McGarr novels, the character would be developed to a degree that would provide greater satisfaction.

Bartholomew Gill's Death of An Irish Politician is a perfectly serviceable, if occasionally cliched mystery novel. Indeed, long time mystery fans will recognize many generic conventions at once, from the idiosyncratic but doggedly loveable protagonist Peter McGarr, to the unctuous villains that occasionally seem straight out of central casting. That aside, Gill writes quite well and keeps the pace a-hoppin; even the most discerning reader will find it difficult not to get lost in this emerald inflected caper.
For the American reader, much of the novel's enjoyment stems from the portrait of Ireland, a country alternately portrayed as both Romantically violent and violently Romantic. Indeed, aside from the inescapable political overtones, much of this book concerns itself with the Ireland of postcards, a place full of single malt whiskeys, gray mists, and kindly, salty sea-folk. The very first paragraph of the book, for instance, sets the scene as twilight falls and the "gorse of Bray Head ten miles South caught the last of the sun and bristled green." Never mind what the heck the "gorse of Bray Head might be," the important thing for the average American reader is that this book feels very Irish.
Of course, there's a mystery, albeit a relatively conventional one, at work here, too. The details don't so much matter, suffice it to the plot includes includes weapons smuggling, the Irish Republican Army, beautiful, treacherous women, and a wide variety of old sots who both help and hinder the investigation. This is a fun book. You will enjoy it. It certainly won't change your life, but now you weren't expecting it to were you?

The Death of an Irish Lover is a well-crafted mystery but reading it could prove to be a bit depressing for any woman over say, 35. In this mystery the hero, Peter McGarr, has a wife much younger, better looking, and wealthier than he is who simply adores him. The only other woman in the story the author casts as attractive to men is the younger, drug-addicted prostitute. All other women are unattractive by virtue of their age, desperation for a baby or desperation for a man or craziness. One of McGarr's employee's, Ruth, is supposedly so desperate for her ultra masculine co-worker Ward that she is willing to have his baby, live with him half time and share him with the mother of his other children! A good mystery but at the same time a male fantasy.

Another winner in the Peter McGarr series, which were written by American author, Mark McGarrity, until his untimely death last summer. The characters are well rounded, never stereotyped, and the endings never easy to predict.
There are enough false leads to keep you guesing until the end. As always we get a picture of Ireland, from the small town gossips to the dark underbelly of the criminal world. McGarr and his cohorts are interesting characters despite their all too human frailties. In a country where murders are refreshingly rare, McGarr keeps busy solving all that come his way. This book is a good read.

Bartholomew Gill is an Irish writer of intriguing police procedurals which blend hard realism with romantic story-telling, set always in very confined settings, full of local color and local characters. The intricacies of eel-fishing on the River Shannon, and eel-poaching by IRA sympathizers, who sell the eels at high prices to finance IRA activity, are the offbeat sources of the realism and romance here.

When two members of the "eel-police" are found shot to death in bed, in what appears to be a slaying by a jealous husband, Detective Superintendent Peter McGarr and his motley assistants from Dublin are called in. As they investigate the killings in the seemingly idyllic town of Leixleap, the reader is exposed to the slippery underbelly of small town Irish life--the petty jealousies, the abusive liaisons, the manipulations of those clever enough to play "the system," the limited expectations of the young women, and the ties that bind everyone to a beautiful village which has few legitimate opportunities.

Ultimately, it's the characters which make the novel come truly alive. McGarr, his family, and his assistants are colorfully drawn, all with unique characteristics which make them memorable. His psychological acuity makes their behavior plausible, and the limited setting provides for much interaction among them and the townspeople. These interactions, not outside sources, lead to the complications which enliven the plot. Gill alternates pathos and humor to moderate the most violent scenes, and his depiction of a child caught unwittingly in the turmoil is especially affecting. This is an absorbing mystery and a welcome change of pace from urban thrillers--no less violent, but perhaps more affecting because its world is so small and its characters, so chummy. Mary Whipple

Peter McGarr is new to me, but this is the 14th installment of Gill's police procedural series. Investigating the murder of two cops found "en flagrante," McGarr finds himself involved with IRA related, eel-poaching criminals on the Shannon River. While neither of those topics is high on my "to read" list, Gill's interesting facts on the life cycle of eels would have created more reader interest if they had been presented earlier in the book. It is pretty apparent that some of the clues are red herrings, but the finger of guilt points to just about everybody in the village, changing with every new bit of evidence or hearsay. Therefore, Gill could have named the murderer at any point. His last chapter is a satisfying wrap-up of the murder, but many of the other story-points in the book are left unattended, like flotsam on the Shannon.

Bartholomew Gill's latest Peter McGarr police procedural seems a wee bit strained. The plot has promise, a philandering member of the "eel police" is half of a double homicide, with a young, recently married co-worker sharing death's bed. Tim Tallon is the inn-keeper, and a childhood acquaintance of McGarr's; in fact, the playground bully. Hughie and Rut'ie are back to their old tricks. We have a whiff of the IRA. There are some ancient jokes told to polish the bona fides of raconteur Benny Carson. In all, the characters are going through the paces. Despite the tragedy you find it hard to muster sympathy. Despite the "humor" you find it hard to smile. Loose ends, gratuitous violence (in his mid-fifties, McGarr must prove he's still a tough guy), and an improbable ending by half. Gill has done an admirable job in keeping an ongoing series fresh and intersting, but he misses here.

My first two fears was that this was either some narrow esoteric treatise in theology-speak; or it was going to be some sort of simplistic catechism which are legion. It was neither. Patriarch Bartholomew gets down to the spiritual essence of what the Church is about. The title contains the clue: mystery. Very often people want to understand God in concrete terms they can categorize and (unfortunately) manipulate. Throughout history God has been revealed to various persons in a multitude of ways. Much, but not all, has been summarized in the Bible which is the written record of those faith experiences. However, God is so transcendent and beyond anything that we conceive that in humility we have to realize that we haven't even scratched the surface in understanding God. Much of theological work has been to make God understandable in human terms. Some of that is very helpful, some is not. Ultimately, the Patriarch is trying to lead us to the idea that God is not a concept to be understood rationally, but a being with whom we are called into a personal relationship. A theologian is not someone who studies about God, but is a person who encounters God in a prayerful relationship. God cannot be encapsulated fully in creeds. God must be experienced and Bartholomew provides the reader with the perspective of a two thousand year old tradition. A perspective that regretfully many people of Western Christian traditions in America have not been exposed.

For many Christians in the west, both Protestant and Catholic, Eastern Orthodox Christianity remains largely unknown, overlooked and even ignored. Orthodox believers constitute a family of fifteen self-governing and "autocephalous" churches that are united in liturgy and doctrine but administratively independent. By some estimates they number 300 million adherents. Whereas Rome fell in the late fifth century, Byzantine Christianity flourished for a millennium, from the time when Constantine established "New Rome" in what is today Istanbul until its fall to the Ottoman Empire in 1453. In the United States, since the late 1980s, a steady trickle of mainly Protestant evangelicals have converted to Orthodox.

It's hard to imagine a better guide to the Orthodox than Bartholomew I (b. 1940). In 1991 he was elected as the Archbishop of Constantinople and the Ecumenical Patriarch who serves as the spiritual leader over the entire Orthodox communion. In Orthodox parlance he has no juridical authority but he enjoys a primacy of honor as the "first among equals." His personal background and sustained efforts over the last twenty years have earned him a reputation as an outspoken advocate of reconciliation among world religions, ecumenicity among Christians, and care for the environment. He's a Turkish citizen of Greek heritage, situated at the geographic, cultural, political and religious crossroads of Islam, Judaism and Christianity, and he's fluent in eight languages.

Bartholomew begins with a general introduction to Orthodox history, theology, and worship. He explains the aesthetic elements of Orthodoxy as seen in its architecture, icons and liturgy. He describes the influential role of monastic spirituality and the sacraments. I've always appreciated the Orthodox emphasis on "apophatic" theology, the notion that the transcendent God is beyond human definition and comprehension, yet truly immanent: "God as unknowable and yet as profoundly known; God as invisible and yet as personally accessible; God as distant and yet as intensely present. The infinite God thus becomes truly intimate in relating to the world" (186). In the last half of the book Bartholomew turns to matters of ecology, human rights, social justice, war and peace, and dialogue. Throughout his book he shares personal anecdotes about his childhood, seminary days, visiting the famous monastery at Athos, and his numerous ecumenical and environmental undertakings. This is a good book by a great man, but for an introduction to Orthodoxy there's still none better than The Orthodox Church by Bishop Kallistos (Timothy) Ware of Oxford, first published in 1963 and now available in any number of revised editions.

Patriarch Bartholomew has remained a bit of a mystery, even to the Orthodox faithful. His brilliant writing not only illuminates the Orthodox faith but also reveals the heart and mind of their present spiritual father. This book can easily be read by the layperson, and is an indication that in spite of the Orthodox clinging to their ancient faith and praxis, the faith still addresses well the challenges of our post-modern world.

The content of this book was not very Orthodox.

On the one hand, the Ecumenical Patriarch gave a survey of the Orthodox church and parts of the faith. He gave a fairly good overview of Orthodoxy's icons, architecture, monasticism and celibacy. However, he failed to adequately discuss the Orthodox understanding of Jesus Christ and His life, death and resurrection. He also failed to adequately discuss the sacramental life of the Orthodox Church. The sacraments (the mysteries) got only three pages, and the Eucharist got only one paragraph. Theosis (the key to Orthodox spirituality -- i.e., how to become holy) was mentioned, but its three basic steps (keeping the commandments, cultivating the beatitudes, and selfless love for God and neighbor) were glossed over. That was 1/3 of the book.

On the other hand, the remaining 2/3 of the book were mostly secular responses to current problems around the world. The exception was the patriarch's chapter on ecology: he did a fairly good job with that. Otherwise, there was hardly any mention of following Christ, growing in the grace of the Holy Spirit, participating in the liturgical life of the Church, and theosis. He did mention that a total transformation of attitude is needed in humanity today in order to address our most serious global problems. Yet, he failed to explain the proven ways which the Orthodox Church offers in order to produce just such a change in mind and heart (metanoia). In short, the Ecumenical Patriarch failed to demonstrate how Orthodox Christian living can and must make the world a better place. And that is truly a bizarre thing to have to say.

Instead, and more bizarre, I had to keep asking myself "What is the point and who is the audience" as I read this book. I concluded that the Ecumenical Patriarch was trying to show that the Orthodox Church in general (and the Ecumenical Patriarchate in particular) was an ancient institution that is nevertheless socially and ecologically (?) relevant today. I suspect it was an appeal to secular humanists, by portraying Orthodoxy in essentially a secular light, in order to gain support for the Ecumenical Patriarchate against the pressures of the Turkish government.

I bought and read this book because I am a member of the Orthodox Church, because it was written by the Ecumenical Patriarch, because it has a forward by Kallistos Ware, and because it was touted by the Orthodox publisher and bookseller, Light-n-Life.

But, I was so very disappointed by it. I had to force myself to finish it. It was made worse by the writing style, which was replete with bromides and repetitions.

Finally, if you want good introductions to Orthodoxy, see "The Orthodox Church" by Timothy Ware and "The Orthodox Way" by Kallistos Ware.

Encountering the Mystery by Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew is a significant disappointment for Orthodox Christians and people of goodwill throughout the world. Using poor writing and repetitive phrasing, His All Holiness paints a portrait of the Ecumenical Patriarchate that is far removed from reality and hardly the prophetic witness the world needs. Full of ambiguity and thin on substance the contradictions in this book with reality could not be greater. One cannot help but wonder if "do as I say but not as I do" should be the theme of this book.

Consider the following:

* We are asked to embrace the environmentalism of the Ecumenical Patriarchate and shun consumerism yet His All Holiness uses a yacht to cruise the Bosphorus. He chastises the West but at the same time his ministry is funded in large part by Greek Orthodox Christians in the USA.

* We are asked to embrace the defense of human rights yet we see The Ecumenical Patriarch ignore suffering and human rights abuses in Cuba while he praised the ruthless dictator Fidel Castro as an environmentalist.

* We are asked to embrace the human person as an icon of God's love yet His All Holiness neglects to address any serious moral issues facing the human person. Issues as such abortion, human trafficking and the threat to human life from new technologies are not addressed at all. Traditionally Orthodox Countries have increasingly high rates of abortion and human trafficking yet the leader of the world's Orthodox Christians does not address these important moral issues in detail.

* We are asked to embrace religious tolerance yet His All Holiness will not offer his public protection and witness when Christians are killed in Turkey because of their work. His All Holiness also offers no counsel on dealing with radical Islam. Given the moment of history we now find ourselves in, the lack of discussion on this matter is a grave injustice to the many Christians who live in the Islamic World.

* We are asked to embrace the Ecumenical Patriarch as a witness to Orthodox Christians in America. Yet despite speaking perfect English when he comes to America His All Holiness for the most part speaks only Greek and uses such divisive words as omogenia. Why does His All Holiness fear and work against Orthodox Unity and Autocephaly in America?

It is often said that His All Holiness is a prisoner of political circumstances of the totalitarian authorities in Istanbul. Yet such circumstances have in the past not impeded the witness of modern day prophets such as Alexander Solzhenitsyn, Martin Luther King, and Pope John Paul II. No, it looks more and more like the Ecumenical Patriachate is more and more a prisoner of its own ambition to be accepted by the political and social elites of the European Union and secular political world. This quest for acceptance at the expense of the prophetic witness of Orthodox Christianity is the real tragedy of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in the 21st Century.

Despite praises in Time Magazine, Orthodox Christians do not need A Green Patriarch or an Orthodox Patriarch who wins the Nobel Peace Prize. It needs the prophetic witness of the successor of St. Andrew the Apostle -a witness that truly rows upstream against the world.

I think the book is funny but my son who is almost 2 1/2 isn't interested in it. He'd rather read "You can go to the potty" by the Sears.

Ba is typical little kid getting potty trained. Doesn't think he needs potty until almost too late and afterwards both Ba and George are proud. Funny pictures!

I didn't like this book it really didn't have any useful information in it but to my 2.5 year old, it was funny!

Not a great potty training book. But a very fun book about potty training. We love all the books by this author!

In the highly populated potty book market, this book captures but one aspect: trying to get to the potty in time. Author illustrator Virginia Miller offers spare text in large easy-to-read print and drawings in pencil and colored marker featuring a lovable bear named Bartholomew (�Ba� for short). When his papa George asks, �Do you need your potty, Ba?� his son responds �Nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, NAH!� My girls thought this hysterical and began repeating it (almost to the point of tedium). Read this book for entertainment only. To introduce the functional aspects of the toilet training process, such as what actually goes in the potty, wiping, flushing, and washing up, try these more instructional potty books: The Potty Book for Girls by Alyssa Satin Capucilli, You Can Go to the Potty by Dr. Sears or What To Expect When You Use the Potty by Heidi Murkoff.

This book ties up most of the loose ends of the first two
books of this series. I disagree with the author injecting
Horatio Hornblower and a rather mousy Admiralty
clerk named Cratchit in where they really weren't needed.
It just seemed to cheapen a reasonably good read.

This is the last book of the trilogy by the late Wilder Perkins. It is necessary to read the first two books of the series to understand the story. This novel seems to be set in December 1805 and/or January 1806. Like some other authors, Perkins has compressed the action into too short a time frame. People dash about at breakneck speeds. Evidence of the author's lack of time sense shows up when he mentions a sailing ship going from London to Botany Bay in 100 days - a journey that would have taken 9 or 10 months at a minimum in 1805. The late Patrick O'Brien also seemed to have that problem.

The novel finds Bartholomew Hoare finally coming to grips with the main French agent in London. The man had deluded various people with visions of grandeur if they supported Napolean, and had purchased other people's services with gold. The spymaster is a bit inept, and things start to come apart in his organization when Hoare sets the crew of the Royal Duke on the man's trail. The man kidnaps Hoare's new wife and their adopted child, and tries to toy with Commander Hoare instead of killing him - a dangerous mistake.

The royal family is shown in an unfavorable light. There are also comments on the attitudes towards lower classes. When a woman's maid is raped and murdered, it is brushed aside by a comment that "she was only a servant."

Overall, it could have been a better novel. The plot is good, but at points the author rambles and digresses. He seems to go into side details when they are not needed, and tries to throw in too much nautical jargon. He also repeats jokes - something that is amuzing the first time tends to get stale with constant retelling (the author must have been insufferable at parties). He makes the assumption that an admiral who was promoted up through the various ranks would be unfamiliar with the process. He also gets a bit surreal in a final chase through underground passageways. As in the other novels, a map would have been helpful.

The obvious plagiarisms:

1) "Make it so" almost every time Hoare orders his crew show the author like to watch Star Trek NG very big in the 1990s.

2) Hoare is about to be attack in a rowboat that is taking him back to the Royal Duke. The author has built this up so you know it is coming and you are waiting. So Hoare is sitting in the boat and relaxing because he is happy to be out of London and on the water. This is the abreviated quote...
'Believe me, my young friend, there is NOTHING--absolute nothing--half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats. Simply messing,' he went on dreamily: 'messing--
about--in--boats; messing----'

If you ever read the wind in the willows you know this is an exact copy of the text. It ruins the scene and suspense.

The author constantly make sexual innuendoes out of the blue for no reason. It is like he thought them up and then looked for ways to use them.

The plot falls apart because it just doesn't have any reality. The network is after Hoare and he knows it. He takes no precautions to protect his family... They are take hostage to make Hoare do their bidding. The group stops to do things during the abduction that any organized network would never have done.

Now Hoare complies and is now trapped in the house wih the network leaders as their prisoner while his whife and child are hostages upstairs.
What does the leader want to do? No. Yes! Play poker with Hoare. Play poker for the life of his family. COUGH COUGH

Ok so through this (if you still are reading the book) Hoare gets his daughter brought to him in the room and SUDDENLY there is a fight in the other room from drunk men. EVERYONE leaves the room to go to the men, not even leaving gaurds. This is supposed to be an organised spy network!?
Hoare hides the kid in the room instead of out the window! Heads upstairs to get his wife. She swears and is vulgar (which for the character is untrue and not in the style of the 1800s). They are then trapped when the leaders decide "oh yeah we have a prisoner we have left unguarded for about an hour". The Royal Duke's crew shows up (through the upstairs window) and fights them off while Hoare and his wife escape through the ?window? The author doesn't say... If so why didn't they do that 20 minutes ago?

Ok, so now his wife and daughter were kindapped because Hoare "doted" over them. So what does Hoare and his wife do? Go back to the inn and eat and go to sleep, telling the crew the daughter is hidden in the room and to pick her up.!?

The leader gets away with the daughter and now what does the loving Hoare do (and his wife)? Go home. Oh but they do send one of the crew out to look for the man!? So now we come to the end. They wait for an attack on royal duke (how they were sure it was coming is never really clear). They overwhelm the attackers and the leader again leaves with the daughter. Hoare follows to the sewer/tunnels under london. Then is led half way through the system by some guy and woman. Suddenly the woman sprains her ankle and can't go on (this couple claimes to have known every inch of the tunnels). So Hoare goes on alone. Kills one more gaurd with un-needed bloody description. And attacks the leader. It is all over in about a paragraph and ends with Hoare walking away with the girl. A perfect ending to this book. Makes you feel like the author threw his hands in the air and walked away. Wish I had after the first chapter.

If you like naval historical fiction, you will probably like this book. I tend to prefer the best writers, like Patrick O'Brien and David Donachie, (Dudley Pope's works are not consistently as good, but they are also "good reads.")
The Hoare series (3) is "good"--not great, but good enough that after this book, I bought the other two. It's true there are a couple of questionable references to Horatio Hornblower and
a clerk named "Crachit," but overall, the book does hold one's interest and does contain good plot, setting and characterization. I liked the protagonist, Hoare, and found him to be intelligent, astute and sympathetic. If you are starved for naval historical fiction of this genre, and assuming you have read all of O'Brien's Aubrey-Maturin series, I would recommend the Hoare series, plus all of the David Donachie and Jan Needle novels. In fact, once the Hoare series is read, I have only the hope that Needle and Donachie will continue to publish more in their respective series. I have read just about every single historical novel in the 17th-19th century naval genre, and I would place the "Hoare" series as a "7" on a scale of 1 to 10, with O'Brien being a 10, and Needle and Donachie "9's." If you like Dudley Pope and Dewey Lambdin, you should definitely try the Hoare books.

Commander Bartholomew Hoare enjoys being a naval officer who predominately uses his skills and that of his crew on land, which allows him time with his wife and child. His idyllic time ends when his superior Admiral Abercrombie orders Hoare to find missing sensitive documents taken from London's Admiralty House.

Hoare knows that an inside traitor had to have stolen the documents. He makes inquiries, but soon finds his work endangers his beloved family as an unknown assailant kidnaps them to blackmail Hoare into failing on his mission. Treason threatens to topple the government, but Hoare now must choose between saving his family or saving his country unless the unconventional "sailor" can figure out some other path that rescues both.

The third and final Hoare historical mystery is a great homage to the late Wilder Perkins. The story line is filed with action as Hoare struggles between his conflicting dilemmas. Hoare remains heroic and the appearances of real people add to the Regency era background of the novel. This novel and the previous two books are some of the best early nineteenth century stories of the past decade and worth searching for and then reading.

Harriet Klausner

When I learned that Prometheus Press had published a book about critical thinking written by two well-known skeptics, I didn't have a very difficult time imagining what the book would be like, how the authors' attitude towards alleged paranormal phenomena would manifest itself, and even guess what their conclusions would look like.

My guesses were these: they would present several different paranormal and hard-to-explain cases, both famous and not so famous ones; they'd be extremely skeptical to everything in their path while furiously debunking everything they could lay their hands on; and reach the conclusion that true science is the only way to go and that pseudo science is a poison that must be eliminated at any cost.

Not very surprisingly, I was right. Does that mean the book is boring and predictable? No, absolutely not. It's book that's truly worth reading, and that goes for skeptics and believers alike. But how is that?

Well, because the book is really a somewhat easy-to-understand introduction to the idea of critical thinking. What is critical thinking, how do you do it, and perhaps most important of all, WHY do you do it? Everyone is born with the ability to think, but this ability can be exercised and improved. And the better one is to use this magnificent brain of ours, the better the chances are of succeeding in life. Also, if you happen to be one of the "believers", then Hoaxes, Myths, and Manias is still an interesting book to buy, since you'll easily learn how the "enemy", i.e. the skeptic movement, thinks and acts.

But, the book does have one huge weakness. The authors aren't afraid to generalize. And this generalization results in their conclusions to very complex phenomena being based on very sparse evidence. For instance, the entire UFO phenomena, more or less, is discarded by quickly explaining how the famous Roswell incident in 1947 had nothing whatsoever to do with extraterrestrials and how the airship sightings in early 20th century America simply were fakes. So since Roswell and the airships had natural explanations - UFO phenomena is no mystery at all.

This arrogance is extremely unfortunate, because the authors write in a very, VERY fascinating way about how reality is very much a social construction, and how cultural conditions to a very large extent affect how and what we see as normal and not normal.

And in this era, characterized as it is by social anxiety and cultural antagonism, more people ought to know about that.

When I learned that Prometheus Press had published a book about critical thinking written by two well-known skeptics, I didn't have a very difficult time imagining what the book would be like, how the authors' attitude towards alleged paranormal phenomena would manifest itself, and even guess what their conclusions would look like.

My guesses were these: they would present several different paranormal and hard-to-explain cases, both famous and not so famous ones; they'd be extremely skeptical to everything in their path while furiously debunking everything they could lay their hands on; and reach the conclusion that true science is the only way to go and that pseudo science is a poison that must be eliminated at any cost.

Not very surprisingly, I was right. Does that mean the book is boring and predictable? No, absolutely not. It's book that's truly worth reading, and that goes for skeptics and believers alike. But how is that?

Well, because the book is really a somewhat easy-to-understand introduction to the idea of critical thinking. What is critical thinking, how do you do it, and perhaps most important of all, WHY do you do it? Everyone is born with the ability to think, but this ability can be exercised and improved. And the better one is to use this magnificent brain of ours, the better the chances are of succeeding in life. Also, if you happen to be one of the "believers", then Hoaxes, Myths, and Manias is still an interesting book to buy, since you'll easily learn how the "enemy", i.e. the skeptic movement, thinks and acts.

But, the book does have one huge weakness. The authors aren't afraid to generalize. And this generalization results in their conclusions to very complex phenomena being based on very sparse evidence. For instance, the entire UFO phenomena, more or less, is discarded by quickly explaining how the famous Roswell incident in 1947 had nothing whatsoever to do with extraterrestrials and how the airship sightings in early 20th century America simply were fakes. So since Roswell and the airships had natural explanations - UFO phenomena is no mystery at all.

This arrogance is extremely unfortunate, because the authors write in a very, VERY fascinating way about how reality is very much a social construction, and how cultural conditions to a very large extent affect how and what we see as normal and not normal.

And in this era, characterized as it is by social anxiety and cultural antagonism, more people ought to know about that.

My only quarrel with the book is that they don't go as in depth into the case studies as you think they would. The description on the back cover is a little misleading. The authors average about 7 pages for each case study.

It's such a joy to read fine minds analyzing the WHY of so many culteral phenomena. This was an extra credit book for a class but I couldn't sell it back to the bookstore. Keep it and read it and you'll see why we believe the way we do.

A very good book on critical thinking, the book covers interesting topics like the Monkey Man panic, the Roswell UFO crash, and other lesser-known mysteries. The book also gives good tips for critical thinking and how to approach unexplained mysteries from an analytic point of view.

We purchased this book after my toddler daughter read some of the wonderful Bartholomew and George board books ("Be Gentle" and "I Love You Just the Way You Are") at the library. These stories were sensitive and age-appropriate tales of a toddler learning proper behavior.

This collection (unabridged) included these stories in addition to some new stories we had never seen. These turned out to include ample examples of bad behavior. For instance, in the "Eat Your Dinner" story Bartholomew only eats dinner when he knows he will get dessert. In the "Go To Bed" story, Bartholomew fights with George every step of the way. Our kids may do this on their own, but I don't know what we gain by demonstrating bad behavior in books. If you want to buy "Ba and George" books, try to buy them individually so that you can be selective.

I see the positive reviews of this book, but I don't understand why. Although I know Bartholomew bear obeys in the end, the way he fights what he is told and says no I do not believe is a good example to our children. They need to learn to obey right away. It is not cute or funny that he says no to his parents when told to do something. And reading it to our kids will make them think it's okay to say no as long as they obey in the end. We all know that things we read to them and let them watch contribute to their thinking. I think it's so much better to teach them to say okay right away. It teaches them to challenge authority, and in a society where the young people have so little respect for authority, this is the last thing they need. I don't mean to read too much into the book, but it seems but the "nah" seems to be the recurring theme in the books, and neither I nor my husband liked this book. I seem to be a minority here as far as my opinion, but I am really that far off base?

"There are days when Bartholomew is naughty, and other days when he is very, very good." And so begins a collection of tales of a little bear with a big name. His antics will seem familiar to anyone whose life has been touched by a toddler. Big gentle George tells Bartholomew to do something. Ba says "Nah!" and dawdles until the big voice of George commands: "EAT YOUR DINNER!" or "GO TO BED!" Bartholomew is not a bratty bear - he always complies in the end. Virginia Miller enhances her spare text with illustrations outlined in wide pencil and colored with soft, earth-toned markers. We started out reading the book On Your Potty! When we found this volume of five tales, my daughter's favorite became Be Gentle! And now she wants to hear the entire book every night! Why buy each title separately? Five-in-one is a "honey" of a deal. As George would say: "BUY THIS BOOK!"

All of my children have enjoyed these books. They are simple to read, wonderful illustrations and deal with everyday topics. The illustrations inspired my toddlers to "read" the books themselves creating their own stories. My toddlers also learned some great immitations with tonal changes.

Black Bart Roberts: The Greatest Pirate of Them All is a great historical pirate book!! Black Bart was the most sucessful pirate of all time... not the most notorious, yet the most profitable pirate of all time. He acquirred more boats and booty than any other pirate in history! Another must for pirate buffs like myself!

First of all, the last reviewer pretty much just repeated the book description that's printed above, and the one on the book's back cover. Second of all, the book doesn't even get to Black Bart until page 64! Until then, it's about Captain Howell Davis, and several other captains. Why, I have no idea! I've always loved pirate movies, and pirate stories, so I thought it would be fun to get a few books, and read up on the old scallywags. Now I know we aren't supposed to like pirates. Afterall, they stole, killed, and raped among other things...all bad. But even knowing all this, most of us are very intrigued by them. Perhaps because they're dangerous and unpredictable, and they play by their own rules. Because pirates are so charasmatic and exciting, I didn't think it was possible for a pirate book to be boring, but this one is! I'm sure the author is a nice man, and I'm sure he tried hard, but this book is hard to follow, and completely lacking in excitement and good old fashioned story telling. This reads like a narrative time line, and a very confusing one at that. The first two chapters leading up to Black Bart are incredibly hard to get through, so by the time you finally do get to him, you're so confused and exhausted, that you really don't care anymore. I've read other pirate books, and it is possible to give facts, be descriptive, and also entertain at the same time. This book bored and frustrated me. I was ready to feel like I was in Black Bart's boots from beginning to end, for all the excitment and stories, but that never happened. I suggest you do yourself a favor and look up 'Black Bart' and see what other books are out there. But please, skip this one. It was so bad, I didn't even get through the whole thing.I'm sending my copy back for a refund/credit.

Everyone's heard of pirates Captain Kidd and Blackbeard - but history buffs may be amazed to learn these famous pirates only took about thirty ships between them, whereas Black Bart Roberts alone took more than four hundred ships in a brief period of time. Terry Breverton's Black Bart Roberts is 'must' reading for any interested in pirates and American nautical history: first-hand accounts, court documents, and maps accompany a fascinating bit of piratical history on the high seas.