Bennett Books

My husband gave me a copy of this book and that very night I sat down to just look through the pages, mostly out of curiosity. I read a short poem, then a short story, and then I was really hooked. This is an extraordinary group of writers. The stories and poetry cover so many themes--and when I put the book down, having finished the last piece, I felt like together this little collection of writers had touched my heart, gotten me thinking, and just plain entertained me. It was, as they say, a "great read." I'm looking forward to seeing another anthology from them.

It is very inspiring to find writing of this quality coming out of such a remote area. The stories are well-told and extremely entertaining, the poetry is top drawer. Over-all it is a very thought provoking little volume. I look forward to more offerings from this talented group.

First, the stats, which provide perspective: 8 writers, 47 pieces, 143 pages that include 25 essays/memoir, 12 poems, 10 short stories/vignettes. There, you see? This is a smorgasbord of entertaining writing. "Something for everyone," as Hal Bennett, anthology editor and mentor of the Lakeside Writers Guild says in his intro.

Bennett is a man with a big heart and a big mind. Both qualities shine through as he introduces the group and its members that formed around him and went on to become friends, writing colleagues, and beneficiaries of his mentoring. He quite rightly celebrates the group as a long-lasting support group more than a critique group as such. ("READS is . . . an artifact representing the efforts of a creative community which can perhaps be a beacon for others of like mind."--xiv--) READS aspires to be a model and inspiration of creative community.

To encounter READS/REEDS is to know Lake County and Northern California more thoroughly. It's filled with humor, sex/sexual politics,alcoholic families and recovery, relationship/relationship addiction, horses/cowgirls/cowboys, political action/environmental advocacy,and transcendental spirituality/unity with nature.

These writers are my homefolks in Northern California. I've worked with members in this group on multiple creative projects in different media in Lake County and have either heard or read much of this work in manuscript. What a thrill to see it brought into fruition and see these writers grow in their craft.

Good bedside reading. I enjoyed my copy on the train, as the miles swayed past.

--Janet Grace Riehl, author Sightlines: A Poet's Diary

This book explains the concepts of UML for someone who is looking to understand UML or needs a refresher.

When I wanted to learn C language, the second book I picked up was this same series on C [the first one being K & R, which I read later to comprehend].

This book on UML follows the same tradition of "Teach a concept then give plenty of exercises to practice what you learnt". It includes two case studies also. It also includes a chapter on Real time UML, another on OCL and another chapter on Design patterns. A very good buy for the money (16+ dollars).

Pros: Excellent book for beginners Lots of exercises to practice what you learnt. This can be a first book to read before moving into heavy weights like UML series [from awl] or Booch series [from sigs]. Coverage of Object Constraint Language

Cons: May be taking a case tool like Rational Rose or TogetherJ for implementation, as a side-by-side treatment would have made this book more comprehensive.

Overall I am very much satisfied with this book at a elementary level.

Considering the pricetag of textbooks on this subject, this Schaum's outline is an excellent value. This is one of those Schaum's that has enough good narrative to stand alone as a textbook on a subject. The book takes the practical stance of involving two case studies throughout that serve as subject matter for the numerous examples. One is CarMatch, which is a franchising company promotes car sharing. The other is VolBank, which is a non-profit organization matching volunteers with people and groups needing help. This book covers version 2.0 of UML. The book provides a "How To" section in each chapter in whch examples are developed from one of the two case studies. The two case studies provide examples that cover business modeling, information system development, and real-time system development.

The first two chapters of the book introduce the case studies and provide background to UML. The next twelve chapters explain the notation of UML diagrams and how to produce them. For each type of diagram there are sections on the notation, on how to produce the diagrams, on how each diagram is related to other diagrams, on how each diagram can be used in business modeling, and on how each diagram fits into the Unified Software
Development Process. Each chapter has a set of review questions with answers at the back of the book, solved problems, and supplementary problems. Chapter 15 covers the ways in which UML can be extended. The final two chapters provide information on related topics: Software tools for UML and design patterns. The book concludes with a summary of UML notation, answer pointers for the review questions, the UML Metamodel architecture, a glossary, and a bibliography.

The only thing missing from this book is more integration with tools such as Rational Rose, and more examples of coding from the UML. However, considering the price and the ground covered, I still consider this a five star book on the subject of UML.

I am the illustrator of this book. It was selected for inclusion in Bank Street College Children's Books of the Year, 1997, and also Pick of the Lists (1996) American Bookseller Magazine. It is very popular with visitors to my studio. If you are visiting Mill Valley, California, please visit Susan Cummins Gallery to see more of my work. Thank You Amazon for making it possible to search for books by the illustrator's name. It has not possible to do this at my local bookstores.

I disagree strongly with the Booklist reviewer's opinion of Renee Flower's illustrations. The illustrations are indeed bright, but they are fun, unique and a refreshing departure from the usual fine art style, museum-quality paintings (read: dull) that grace the pages of one too many children's books. Rather than detracting from the poems, they enhance the quality of the book by capturing the mood and spirit of each poem. All too often, children's books are serious, stodgy things. Flower's illustrations are extraordinarily fun, and so is this book.

So glad I discovered this book for my 3rd graders... great for the first week of school. We found all the describing words and one student noticed the "Picasso" illustrations! Lots of similes -- which of course we found as well. Really a DARLING book...

"To play billiards well," quipped Charles Roupell, "is a sign of an ill-spent youth." That image of vice, hustling, and threat to the community used to be a large part of the average American's perception of pool. Then in 1986, The Color of Money came along and revitalized the game and ushered in a new era. It's this era, in all its impressiveness and diversity, that Shamos and Bennett survey.

Shamos is among pool's most accomplished historians, and his knowledge of the game shines brightly in this book. He introduces us to a selection of people who have contributed immensely to the game, takes us on a tour of some of America's classiest and most unique pool and billiard rooms, outlines women's and men's professional pool, and closes with a look at the state of the pool industry.

The life of the book is Bennett's photography. Bennett's lens never fails to bring a sense of animation to the stills and to put us in the moment. Much like buying a better stereo and rediscovering your CDs, Bennett reintroduced me to the image of this game that I've played since childhood.

This book is full of great pictures of pool rooms past and present. Lots of room and player info. Very polished publication. Inetersting for those, like myself, interested in the sport and history. Not an instructional book; but definately worth the price and time to enjoy.

This is by far my favoritebook on pool that I own.Thephotography is awesome,some of the best candid shots ofpro tournament play there is.There are a great deal of action shots too that capture the power of the break and the focus required to stay at the top of your game.Shooting Pooltakes you across the country to meet some of the best players in the game,and to some of the nicest pool halls you have ever seen.I love this book and would never sell my copy!Take care,Caleb

I had picked up one of the author's older books a while ago and was pretty impressed, but it was mostly a collection of stories. So, while interesting, it was no where near complete.

This book, on the other hand, is practically an encyclopedia of feline behavior. VERY cool. She starts with body language, her recommendations for setting up their environment and building confidence, and then goes onto common problems and how to solve them.

The only real blank is that she seems to assume that your cat is used to and at least somewhat trusts YOU. The section on a shy cat assumes that the cat is afraid of visitors.

I just skimmed it, so perhaps it's in one of the introductory sections that I missed (like the play therapy section, which she covered a bit in her other book so I didn't read it in this one). I'll reread it more in depth later and update.

I really like her approach, though, because she does not recommend discipline that the cat will associate with the person - like water bottles, noise makers, yelling, and stuff like that. Instead of negative approaches (like locking the cat out of the bedroom) she suggests positive approaches (like creating an interesting environment in another room). Definitely more work, but I think more successful in the long run.

Pam Johnson-Bennett is one of the best authors in the newly emerging field of cat behavior and this book is no exception. She offers no-nonsense, practical ways of understanding and dealing with your cat's quirks and problems. Her solutions are rarely the "QUICK AND EASY" variety (if you wanted that, I guess you should have gotten a pet rock). But this book goes a long way toward helping you understand your complex and mysterious little housemate. If you take the time to follow her instructions and do what she says, you will get results. Do it for your cat!

Some of her methods are fine for a cat behaviorist or someone who has plenty of time (and no job) to spend catering to their kitty. I am a busy person who needs to socialize a rather "psycho" kitty to my already established one cat household. It has not gone well and if I practiced what this lady preaches I would be at this for years. It's a bit frustrating. Also I do not have a local cat behaviorist in my area to consult and my vet is more of the mind of - well just let the cats figure it out. I am still looking for advice. She seems dead set against using drug therapy on high-strung cats but if you cannot even handle the cat how can you practice all of these great techniques?

This is an excellent commentary on Spinoza's Ethics. It is intellectually
demanding and probably too difficult for most undergraduates. It should
be required reading for any graduate seminar on the topic. Bennett is
highly critical but at the same time very fair in his analysis. Spinoza's
Ethics is a rigorous and demanding work, and the same could be said for
Bennett's commentary. With this book Spinoza has found a critic he so
richly deserves.

Bennett could be a poster boy for 20th century Anglo-American analytical
philosophy. I highly recommend his other works, especially those on
Kant and his magnum opus, Learning From Six Philosophers. The latter
work engages the Big Six of Early Modern Philosophy, Descartes, Spinoza,
Leibniz (the Rationalists) and Locke, Berkeley, and Hume (the Empiricists).

At the top of this review it says that this book is out of print. This is not true. It is available in a paperback edition. I am currently reading the Spinoza chapters of Learning From Six Philosophers. Bennett's analysis may be summed up in one word: superb!

I see that Jonathan Bennett is about to publish a new book entitled _Learning from Six Philosophers_. So this looks like a good time to review this earlier book.

As the title of Bennett's forthcoming book suggests, his primary interest in a philosopher is not whether he was right in every particular but whether he can be read profitably -- i.e., whether it is worthwhile to engage the philosopher's thought as a means to thinking things through oneself. And happily, Bennett's close and critical reading of Baruch Spinoza's _Ethics_ is carried out in this spirit.

"Happily" because Bennett clearly has major disagreements with Spinoza, and disagreements do not always foster intellectual sympathy. But Bennett insinuates his way very carefully and deliberately into Spinoza's thought, with the skill of a sharp analytical thinker and the ease of one long familiar with his text. This is the sort of disagreement that makes for good philosophy; every philosopher should have a critic of Bennett's caliber.

His exposition of the main lines of Spinoza's thought is clear and (in my opinion) correct. For example, in setting out the essentials of Spinoza's outlook, he makes a nice short argument that Spinoza was not (as is sometimes claimed) an atheist. (This is, by the way, in the context of a fine summary of Spinoza's "rationalism.") I shall not multiply examples in a brief review; suffice it to say that Bennett takes great pains to let Spinoza speak for himself, and even to make arguments for Spinoza that Spinoza did not think to make on his own, before launching into searching criticism and disagreement. (He often begins his replies with remarks like, "This is the very best I can do for Spinoza, but unfortunately it is not good enough.")

And Bennett's disagreements are well-founded even where I disagree with them in turn. For example, he closes the volume with what is undoubtedly a controversial claim: that, based on his close reading, the second half of Chapter Five of the _Ethics_ really has nothing of value to offer the modern reader.

Bennett does not especially like this conclusion and almost wishes that he could have omitted it from the book. Yet he finds himself driven to it by the difficulty -- which even Spinoza's defenders must surely acknowledge -- of finding anything in the passage that admits of any clear interpretation at all. Bennett concludes, with a great deal of justice, that if even Spinoza's keenest expositors descend into feckless handwaving and purple sermonizing when they come to this passage, the view that there is some crucially important meaning in it can hardly be maintained.

Here again, this is just the sort of close, critical analysis to which anyone claiming the title of philosopher should expect to be subjected. (Time and again in reading this work, I am reminded of the tone and manner of C.D. Broad's _Examination of McTaggart's Philosophy_.)

And again, it is clear that Bennett _does_ regard Spinoza's _Ethics_ as profitable reading. This is the sort of approach that helps to keep disparate philosophical "camps" talking to one another.

(And it is a blessed relief from, say, Ayn Rand's nonsensical attacks on Immanuel Kant. Readers of Rand who want to see what genuine philosophical criticism looks like could do worse than to study Bennett. For that matter, some of Rand's shriller _critics_ might well emulate Bennett; though frankly I find Rand a good deal less profitable than Bennett finds Spinoza, it is still a pity that so few critical discussions of Rand's philosophy devote much effort to determining what she said and meant. Then, too, Rand's outlook shared some important features with Spinoza's, and some criticisms of the greater philosopher will therefore apply to the lesser one as well.)

Bennett's work succeeds on several counts, then. Besides being a highly competent dissection of the best-known work of the "saint of rationalism," together with some much-needed critical analysis, it is also a model of how to engage a thinker with whom one has important and perhaps irresoluble disagreements. The enterprise of philosophy can only be strengthened by this sort of thing.

I shall therefore look forward to Bennett's discussions of Leibniz, Berkeley, et alia in his forthcoming book. If they are of this quality, they will be worth reading and rereading.

I grew up in science and have only recently found philosophy. So once past Philosophy for Dummies I can find myself in serious trouble. Bennett is not easy, perhaps harder to read than Spinoza. But he allows me to catch my breath with his generous examples, and I learn process while working on content. A degree in philosophy is not a prerequisite to read this book, but persistence is.

Spinoza closes Ethics with: "If the way that I have shown to lead to this seems to be very arduous, yet it can be discovered. And indeed it must be arduous, since it is found so rarely. For how could it happen that, if salvation were ready at hand and could be found without great labour, it is neglected by almost all? But all excellent things are as difficult as they are rare."

Bennett's book echoes this sentiment.

Lilly Bennett continues to solve the mystery while cutting a swath thru food and drink, clothes and parties, that most of us only dream of. Her catty insights and tongue in cheek comments are delightful. But, there's something different about this Lilly. I'm not going to say what, see for yourself. It's still a great series and I'm really looking forward to the next one.

Tramp is a great addition to the Lilly Bennett series. This is the kind of book you can easily read on a rainy day. It holds your attention until the very end.

Lilly Bennett was born to wealth and privilege. However, the vibrant Lilly is too intelligent of an individual to settle for a jet set lifestyle. Instead she has spent two decades working for the Santa Biancan police force. To avert a potentially nasty scandal, she resigns from her job as Chief of Detectives when she is caught in a compromising position with a married State Supreme Court Justice. Lilly returns to her home town of Round-Up, Texas to accept the position of U.S. Marshal. She also opens up a private investigation firm.

Her current case evolves around the death of Cyrus Vaile, a wealthy business-person, who bought and financed the local repertory theatre. Before the wealthy individual overdosed from excess digitalis added to his specially blended tea, he hired Lilly to learn what happened to the $20 million endowment he bestowed on the theatre that mysteriously disappeared. Not soon after Cyrus' death, an attempt is made on Lilly. That incident is followed by the death of an individual who ate poisoned mushrooms at a theatre party. A sabotaged catwalk falls onto the stage, injuring many of the performers and killing one person. It would be obvious to even the most obtuse person living inside the Beltway that someone is after individuals associated with the theatre group. Unless Lilly can find the culprit from a host of potential murderers, more death will follow.

The protagonist speaks with a brutal honesty that, though a bit brash and colloquial, perfectly fits the character. This makes the novel ring true. The cleverly constructed storyline is populated with an eccentric and colorful cast of scoundrels. Each one of them could easily be the villain. Tramp is a witty who-done-it that makes for fun reading.

Harriet Klausner

Fun book to go through but it is over 59 years old and the vocabulary in it is out of date for product names.,etc. If you are expecting a real formula to make something its not there. A lot of items no longer exist or it has since become illegal to purchase. It gives you the basics. If you are a history buff, its entertaining.

Can the at-home person actually use formulas to make glue, paint, crayons and more? Two Thousand Formulas, Recipes & Trade Secrets reprints a 1930s original and takes readers to an era where home remedy formulas were more readily accessible to the public. From cosmetics and drugs to lubricants, oils and construction materials, a vast and surprising array of concoctions is provided for the chemistry student interested in 'do it yourself' materials.

Have you ever run out of gin? I have and I learned on my own how to make instant fake gin using vodka and herbs. Little did I know that the real recipe was in this book. Very cool. Very useful. I'm not kidding! Page 127.

A lot of things have been banned over the 73 years since this book was first published. So what? You can make them yourself now. Want to make some absinthe? Page 122. How about your own cheesy fireworks? Page 278.

If you are going to try and project a total 1950s retro look, you are going to need mimeograph ink for the mimeo machine and you can't get that on Ebay; with this book you can make it yourself. Page 141.

So if you are doing a high school science project, or making homemade gin or need something for the 4th of July, this is the book for you.

Review of "Unspoken Dream"
By Mario S. Fedele, author of "Stories for a Stormy Night, Vol. 1"

In "Unspoken Dreams," Carol Bennett weaves a psychological thriller, which she works up into a fever pitch.
From the moment James Andrews is found dead and the cause of death is listed as a heart attack, we are led to wonder how this could have happened to a healthy athlete such as he. Then a short time later, with his dad dying from the same cause, our suspicions are put on high alert, especially since neither of the two had any previous heart problems.
Possible suspects abound. There's Alan, a troubled individual, who keeps showing up at the funerals and who is often seen parked outside the Andrews home, just sitting in the car, staring. There is also Jared, the one who just happens to stumble upon James' dead body, and soon after is putting the moves on James' girlfriend, Tracy. Even Mrs. Andrews, herself, seems suspect as she hardly takes time to mourn her husband's death, the behavior becoming all the more disturbing when we learn that she stands to inherit a substantial amount from the family business.
James' close knit group of friends try to bring order back to their lives. And in time it seems they're succeeding. Then just as they're caught up in the excitement of preparing for the school dance, all hell breaks loose. It's an event that turns their lives upside down and nothing will ever be the same again.
Carol Bennett is a fine storyteller. Her writing is crisp and clear. Her prose flows easily and her dialogue is natural and engaging. Her characters jump out from the page and become a part of the reader. We celebrate in their good moments and agonize with them through their not so pleasant ones.
I enjoyed "Unspoken Dream" tremendously. It should be a book others seek out as well, as it makes for an entertaining and fulfilling read.

Unspoken Dream caught my attention in the prologue. Being the type of person that just needs to know what happened or how, I was drawn in immediately! Carol's book starts with a tragedy that draws the community together to find out what happened to James. Michael, James best friend, and their close knit of friends attempt to recover from the shock of the tragedy when they are slapped with another doozy. The combination sets Michael out to discover what is really happening.

Carol Bennett not only put together an amazing mystery, but captured the lingo between teenagers quite spectacularly. I felt like I was part of the gang. When the book ended it was as if the characters had become my friends and I could not wait to go hang out with the gang again soon. The twists and turns mixed with emotions and life make this book not only a great mystery, but a hit in my opinion. I rate Unspoken Dream ***** Five Stars *****

C.J. Wilkes
Daddy, I Forgive You
(...)

Unspoken Dream: Book Review

"Carol Bennett writes a stunning mystery-thriller. Her chilling entrance is one I have encountered only rarely in a book. Here, we have a victim who looks like he had been swarmed by bees in the middle of a storm, but the reader is lead to believe that it was something much more ominous and that it is about to get worse.

There are many characters in the tale, but a group of teenagers that are about to graduate from high school (Mike, Jack, Jared, Jenny, Tracy, Dana, Alan) and Sheriff Nate are the main characters. The lead character, Mike, is more like a father figure for the group in that he concerns himself with the needs of his friends and becomes a compassionate leader to his community during an emergency. His girlfriend Dana, as a sweet and supportive character, gives him strength. Shy, Jenny who is blooming into a beautiful girl has a crush on Mike's friend Jack, which sends Alan into a jealous frenzy. Though James and Tracy are dating, their buddy Jared holds a secret fondness for Tracy.

Carol did a wonderful job in portraying the characters in Unspoken Dreams. I was so involved in the story that by the time Mike finally broke down in grief for his friends' death, I had tears running down my cheeks - this was less than 2 dozen pages into the book! Mike's humorous relationship with his parents had me laughing aloud. And I felt real pity for Alan's situation.

An excellent read for those who love a good thriller with a solid rate of tension throughout the book."

~ Lillian Brummet - Book Reviewer - Co-author of the book Trash Talk, a guide for anyone concerned about his or her impact on the environment - Author of Towards Understanding, a book of poetry. (http://www.sunshinecable.com/~drumit)

This is without question one of the best books on the history of the GI Bill and its impact on America. I found it to be well researched and an enjoyable read. Clearly, the secret to the success of the GI Bill is that it was an earned benefit that changed the social dynamics of America by creating "middle-class" America, creating "suburbia", putting veterans' back into the workforce, and opening the doors of colleges to a population of citizens that would have never received a college education. One of the greatest pieces of social legislation ever enacted. Leaves readers with one unanswered question: "Why aren't today's veterans worthy of the same benefits?"

Bennett set twin goals for himself: " . . . to make scholars realize how significant the GI Bill was in shaping American society over the past fifty years, and to tell a great story for not only those who benefited from the bill but also their children and grandchildren". Bennett chose the right target audience and he masterfully achieved his two goals.

As the war was nearing its end, America's leaders began to contemplate the domestic challenges that peace would bring. GI Joe would be leaving the battlefields of Europe and the beaches of the Pacific. He fully intended to cast off the chains of the depression and regain his rightful place on the assembly line, at the check out, in the classroom, and behind the plow.

Many in the Administration and Congress recognized that this transition might not be an easy one. Years of global conflict had already altered America. GI Joe had marched off to war in the aftermath of the Great Depression. Pre-war America was predominantly agrarian, isolationist, and rural. Post-war America was victorious, increasingly industrial, worldly, and urban. The post war changes in the U.S. would be dramatic. When Dreams Came True details the pivotal role that the GI Bill played in that metamorphosis.

Bennett relates the tortuous path of the act from inception to enactment. The American Legion, editor Walter Howey, publisher William Randolph Hurst, Representatives Edith Rogers and John Rankin, and Senator Bennett Clark, were unlikely companions on the road to passage of the GI Bill. Thanks to Representative John Gibson's tie breaking vote, the language that became the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944 emerged from a near-deadlocked House-Senate committee almost in step with the relentless troop movement inland from the Normandy beaches.

Two aspects of the GI Bill sculpted the most dramatic changes to the face of America. Bennett claims that the bill's educational benefits and home ownership provisions were largely responsible for the birth of the American middle-class way of life. He makes a compelling case.

Veterans in the millions-many who had never dreamed of higher education-flocked to the nation's colleges and universities. This flood was both unprecedented and unexpected. Pre-war, a college education was generally the province of the country's elite. There were just under 213,500 college degrees conferred in 1942. That number rose steadily in the decade after the war and stood at just under 455,000 by 1951. The GI Bill of Rights made it possible for many returnees to select higher education in lieu of immediately joining the labor market. Thousands of veterans chose formal education-and many elected to attend the better-quality schools.

The GI Bill's home loan guarantees for veterans also significantly altered the American scene. There was more involved than merely home ownership. During the war veterans had learned to live side-by-side with people from different backgrounds. Veteran's mortgage benefits nourished the rise of a diverse suburbia and contributed to the reduction of the pre-war ethnic, religious, and racial enclaves. Veterans did not simply choose to buy vice rent. They chose a "way of life" that broke free from the class conscious boundaries that had distinguished their parents. This burgeoning middle class also served as a catalyst for more pervasive social change.

When my father returned from WW II, he took advantage of many provisions of the GI Bill. After Vietnam, I used my GI Bill eligibility to purchase my first home and pursue my initial degree. But we never understood the birthing pains that produced the law that provided these benefits. Passage of the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944 was a marvelous accomplishment and one of which I had little appreciation.

Bennett relates history with an easily readable style. This is not a text. It is a "story" of America's transformation in the decades following WW II. Michael Bennett weaves a powerful and interesting tale. It is a fitting tribute to those who fought. I recommend it to all the GI Joes and those they sired. When Dreams Came True can help all every American appreciate the magnitude of change that our country has witnessed in the latter half of the 20th Century.

Michael Bennett's When Dreams Come True is a great in-depth study of the history around the creation of the Serviceman's Readjustment Act of 1944. He includes a great historical look at the support (or lack of support) that veterans received prior to World War 2 and then continued with a detailed study of the political process that ultimately led to the creation of the GI Bill.
The book is easy to read, but very detail in nature. Those looking for a quick, general read might look elsewhere.