Blanc Books

Bob-lo Island is now home to dozens of luxury homes and condominiums for the well to do, but for nearly one hundred years it was Everyman's playground. Located eighteen miles south of Detroit and just west of Amherstburg, the island was Detroit and Windsor's favorite summertime destination.

In Summer Dreams: The Story of Bob-Lo Island, Patrick Livingston reveals the island's fascinating history, from the British occupation of the island in 1783 to its development as an amusement park and its current reincarnation as a resort community. More than just a glossy nostalgia trip, Summer Dreams also exposes the back story of racism, youth gangs and mismanagement of the island.

Livingston not only captures the glory years of Bob-Lo with its many amusement rides and attractions, he goes behind the scenes to reveal the inner workings of both the island and the famed steamers used to ferry patrons to and from the island. Also featured are a handful of essays written by people with first hand knowledge of the island and more than a hundred vintage photographs and illustrations. Summer Dreams: The Story of Bob-Lo Island is recommended to anyone who has pleasant memories of riding the Thunderbolt, enjoying a picnic lunch on the immaculately kept grounds or stealing a kiss from your best girl on the Moonlight Cruise.

I only say that it is worth buying this book. Believe me, I know what I am saying.

We hiked the Tour de Mont Blanc (tmb) in August 2003 and used the previous edition of this book. A british couple shared this new edition with us and we could not wait to purchase one ourselves.

This edition is up-to-date and provides excellent information about clockwise and the more traditional counterclockwise routes. Each leg is accurately described with a detailed map and elevation chart. Refuges are listed, giving the hiker information about number of available beds and phone numbers to call ahead for reservations.

Corazón tan blanco comienza con Teresa, una mujer que poco después de haber regresado de su viaje de bodas se mata con la pistola de su padre. Esa mujer era la hermana de la madre (o sea la tía) del protagonista, quien - como aprendemos al final de la novela - se llama Juan. Ranz (el padre de Juan y el esposo de Teresa) se casó después de este suicidio con Juana, la hermana de esa misma Teresa.

Ranz y los otros miembros de la familia casi no dicen nada a Juan sobre las verdaderas circunstancias de la muerte de su tía; Juan cree que su muerte había sido un accidente o algo así. Tampoco sabe que Teresa era la segunda (y no la primera) esposa de Ranz. Esa primera esposa también murió precozmente pero por motivo desconocido al lector hasta el último capitulo.

Bueno, Juan no presume nada de estos misterios cuando, durante su misma luna de miel, en un hotel en La Habana, le pasan cosas extrañas: una mujer desconocida le confunde con otra persona. 'Te mato' grita ella. Más tarde se entera que ella quiere que su novio mate a su esposa presuntamente enferma.

La novela continua con gran detalle el desenlace de todos estos secretos (y hay algunos más). Claro, al final de esta excelente novela Juan descubre la verdad sobre su padre.

Creo que 'Corazón tan blanco' es una novela extraordinaria y vale mucho leerla. Después de la lectura probablemente vas a decir: 'ya lo he hecho' (I have done the deed) - ¡He leído una novela grandiosa!

This review is based on the Spanish language edition, 'Corazón tan blanco', ISBN 84-95501-03-1, ed. punto de lectura, 12th ed. 2004.

Christmas is right around the corner and crossword puzzle construction guru Belle Graham and her husband Private Investigator Roscoe Polycrates are getting into the holiday spirit. Roscoe is a little concerned that three dangerous men broke out of a Boston Prison and might be heading for his hometown Newcastle. Roscoe and his two policemen friends are dressed in Santa suits collecting children's gifts from merchants who used the stores as drop off points.

Roscoe and Company are pulled over by the police because they think the Santas are the escaped convicts. The real criminals are in a gun shop getting supplies as they make a run for freedom. Meanwhile Roscoe and Belle and their two canines believe their master is buying two love birds for his wife and their antics to dissuade him are hilarious. At a neighborhood Christmas party, gifts are being exchanged from a grab bag when the third escaped convict (the other two already in custody) breaks in and is brought down by one of the canines. Christmas in Newcastle is a success.

Just like the animals in the Mrs. Murphy books by Rita Mae Brown, the animals in Newcastle are able to communicate with one another which make for amusing scenes. Belle and Roscoe are as much in love as ever and both construct puzzles as a means of communicating what Christmas gifts they bought for one another. Nero Blanc has given the perfect Christmas gift for crossword fanatics, the canine caper crew lovers
and mystery fans.

Harriet Klausner

Stormbreaker is the best Alex Rider book the film is awesome. I would like to know how he became a black belt at karate so quick, but its only fiction, I guess u just have 2 believe it.

The book Point Blank by Anthony Horowitz is about a boy named Alex, a normal boy living his adventure life throughout his teenage years. But that all changes after he catches crooks selling illegal drugs. After that Alex is noticed by a team of investigators. The investigators notice Alex's crazy adventures he goes on to stop crime. So they want him to go on a mission as a spy. Alex accepts the terms to go to a school in London under a false name to find out if anything is suspicious. While Alex is there he meets bad kids that don't care about anybody but themselves. But Alex realizes after awhile all the kids that were bad suddenly want to learn, help, and do anything possible to make things better. This is where Alex knows something mysterious is going on and it was up to him to find out what it was.

Its good but not as good as Stormbreaker, its slower and repeats itself a little from book one.
However that said its still a great book , plenty of action and drama.

Point Blank is a great book by Anthony Horowitz. It's in a series with the main character being Alex Rider. I rate this book 5 stars, and I highly recommend this book for anyone who likes spy books. It's full of action and adventure! It reminds me of James Bond and Indiana Jones, because of all of the excitment and spying. Alex's is an MI6. MI6 in England is the same as the CIA in America. It's a super spy service. Alex is 14. He's gone through a great training program to follow his deceased uncle's career. The adventures he gets into covers spying, fighting, shooting, explosions and cloning. It also has a really great cliffhanger at the end. I think you'll find it a great book filled with suspense and action. I recommend reading Stormbreaker (Anthony Horowitz's first book) to understand how Alex Rider became involved in MI6, although I enjoyed Point Blank much more becasue there was more action.

When i first read stormbreaker i read it in about half a day, i was addicted, i couldn't stop reading. When i finished i thought to myself that i probably wouldnt be gripped like that by a book in a long time to come. The next day, i bought Point Blanc and i found myself very mistaken. Point Blanc gripped me like a vice and i highly recommend it.
The book starts 2 weeks after Alex's first mission and to his surprise, M16 need him again, this time he is to go under cover to Point Blanc academy, an isolated bording school for rich rebel boys in the french Alps, to investigate two "accidental" deaths of rich men, both of whos son goes to Point Blanc academy. But can Alex figure out what's going on before it's too late?
Point Blanc is an excelent book that leaves you hanging and waiting for Alex's third adventure... it is a wonderful novel of action and suspense. Any reader waiting anxiously for the release of Vin Diesel's new movie, XXX, or the new James Bond film will definitely find a story in this book to meet the driving excitement in those properties.

The best sauce book ever written. Good for average to above average cooks. May be a little confusing to the beginer.

This book is a great tool for those who are attending a culinary school for it provides an in depth understanding of sauce making. To quote one of my Culinary professors, "...this book is a must for every kitchen's cooking library". If you want to become a good sauce maker, you need to read this book.

Bought the book as a Christmas gift. It looks wonderful and I hope to be the beneficiary of the recipient's learning!

It's a book, yes, and it does have recipes. But it's not a cookbook. It's an incredible tome of reference material; there's a huge section on various ingredients and cooking implements, right down to what kind of metal is best on which pans for what purpose and the optimum construction of spatulae.

It contains a brief rundown of the evolution of classical French cooking, from which a great deal of contemporary sauces emerged. The in-depth information on various kinds of stocks, how to make them, the best way to alter their consistency, the best cuts to use and how using bones instead of meat will change the character of the broth, ways to cook with meat that's been used to make stock so it doesn't go to waste, is just incredible. I'm excited about STOCK. Even for me that's something.

The greatest thing about this book is the depth in which it covers... basically everything. Techniques for many, many sauces are covered, and almost always contain several subsections detailing the differences in technique between making the sauce with different kinds of fat, different stocks, thickeners, ingredients... the book is nearly 600 pages of tightly-packed information, and the only pictures are on about 20 (unnumbered) glossy sheets near the beginning, detailing several very useful and generic step-by-step examples of different sauces, including red Thai curry, caramel, beurre blanc, Bernaise and others.

The even deeper value here is the excellent introduction to the general spices and methods used in various cultures as the basis for their cooking. While you might not realize exactly what you're looking at unless you have some previous experience, assuming you've cooked at length in any of the cultures whose sauces are described, you'll realize you can adapt many of the ingredients used in their sauces to gain a better understanding of their cuisines in general.

If you like to cook, you'll like this book. If you LOVE to cook, you NEED this book -- unless it's actually your profession, but even then I do believe it'd still be a useful reference. As an amateur but enthusiastic kitchen-dweller, I adore this, and it will keep me cooking and experimenting with new sauces and dishes for a VERY long time to come.

I paid a good deal more at a brick and mortar retailer, and am fine with that; it was worth every penny. The price you get here makes it an absolutely essential purchase.

I should have respected a few other reviewers and not purchase this book. After I got it, with "Cooking" by the same author, I returned it because it was "too much." The "Cooking" book by the same author was okay, but if you add this book with "Cooking," it is overkill. "Cooking" by itself is good unless you are "big" into sauces. I was not impressed, and I am a "good" cook but not with a lot of time that "Sauces" required to get the sauces right.

Long time friends Leonard Pine and Hap Collins are out in the woods, taking target practice and talking about an unfortunate turn in Leonard's love life (his lover, Raul, dumped him for another man, "Horse D**k" McNee). Without warning, a rabid squirrel explodes from the trees and attacks, zeroing in on Hap. The squirrel bites Hap on the right forearm before Leonard can kill it with his car. Hap, hospitalized for insurance reasons, starts treatment to prevent the onset of rabies.

Hap makes the best of his hospital stay, but is puzzled by Leonard's failure to visit. A friend on the police force explains why: shortly after Hap checked in, Leonard invaded a biker bar, beat the crap out of Horse D**k McNee, and fled. Unfortunately, Horse Dick later turned up dead, making Leonard a prime suspect. Hap, ignoring his doctor's wishes, and foregoing the chance to flirt with sexy nurse Brett Sawyer, checks out of the hospital to find his friend and clear his name.

Leonard does not remain a suspect for long, as he and Hap hook up and do what they do best, by which I mean they stir up trouble. They discover that Horse Dick was an undercover cop who apparently was investigating the producers of a series of stalk and rape movies in which gangs terrorize, then sodomize, unsuspecting gay men. Their investigations turn up Raul's corpse, and lead them to Charles Arthur, the self described "Chili King", who appears to be behind the movies and the killings.

Proving that a deck can have as many as three wild cards, Lansdale involves private detective Jim Bob Luke (who first appeared in Lansdale's brutal novel Cold in July) in the action. Investigating the case from another angle, Luke rescues Hap from an extremely tight spot (Hap's privates are wired up to a car battery at the time), and joins the pair as they close in on the lowlife behind all the mayhem. Luke adds a comic and savage element to the novel, helping propel it to a harrowing and surprising climax.

If you are a horror/suspense fan, I hardly need to sing Lansdale's praises--his distinctive voice and powerful storytelling are evident on every page. Like previous entries in this series (Savage Season, Mucho Mojo and The Two Bear Mambo), Lansdale uses Hap and Leonard's antics to counter the grim events occurring around them. Two of mystery fiction's more memorable characters, Hap and Leonard have a great talent for finding, then evading, trouble. An East Texas version of Travis McGee and Meyer, their philosophical discussions and wiseass humor will keep you laughing.

The highlight of the book is Jim Bob Luke, who gives new meaning to the phrase "larger than life." Luke steals every scene he's in (and some he isn't), leading me to speculate that Lansdale might inaugurate a new series featuring the hard boiled private eye. I, for one, would welcome it--hell, I'd welcome anything that puts more Lansdale books in my sweaty little hands.

Reading the "first sentence" and "statistically improbable phrases" above may just tell you all you need to know about whether or not this book is for you. This is, if I've got it right, the fourth in the Hap/Leonard series, and while the characters still manage some surprises, they haven't advanced much; Lansdale has to rachet up the action a bit to keep our interest.

But plot is secondary to characterization here, and these characters are stock Lansdale: leather-tough, casually obscene and unabashedly hard-boiled, but with generous dollops of self-doubt and existential angst beneath their battle-scarred exteriors.

Not quite as much fun as Mucho Mojo, the prior entry in the series, this tale requires a bit more suspension of disbelief and tolerance for brutality. But experienced Lansdale readers will find this a worthy effort.

I love Joe R. Lansdale; I think he is the best writer ever to put words on paper. He should be knighted or something. The Hap and Leonard series is pure joy from start to finish. I love both of them, their beautiful friendship, their humor and the outrageous situations they manage to get themselves into. As always, this novel has incredibly well-written prose, hilarious lines and situations and wonderful suspense and action. You really care about the good guys--I always want to hug them!--and yell yee-haw when the bad guys get their asses kicked. The best thing about these books, is that there is also a serious, sometimes wistful tone underneath it all. Sometimes you cry a little. Sometimes you want to hide from the evil of the bad guys. But mostly you just laugh! Perfect!

I only recently re-read this book after a few years and was struck by how FUNNY it is! Arguably the funniest in the Hap/Leonard series, its also pretty dark in many ways, and quite gory as well. Rabies plays a key role in both the beginning and conclusion to this story, in a weird - and oddly satisfying - circular construct. The plot involves Hap's quest to clear Leonard of possible murder charges. There's also what seems to be an underlying theme - with vivid descriptions of torture, gay-bashing for entertainment, mad animals and a violent storm - of nature, in all of its forms, gone wild. Joe Lansdale is somehow able to convey humor even while proving once again that HUMAN nature is still the baddest mf on the block (okay, that storm is pretty bad. But human nature runs a very close second here, trust me!). A must-read.

Man, I just love the Hap and Leonard series. Lansdale's dialogue is hysterical, and somehow the situations these characters keep finding themselves in doesn't feel forced at all. They're the greatest losers that ever lived (on page anyway).

Once again, our heores must solve a mystery surrounding the death of Leonard's boyfriend, and eek out the source of some gay bashing videos that have been circulating at local video stores. Along the way we deal with a self proclaimed Chili King, an ex wrestler who likes to hook people testicles up to car batteries, a nurse with a penchant for lighting people on fire, a particularly rabid squirrel, and then some.

Perhpas my favorite part of this novel is the introduction of Joe Bob, a gun totin', gun slingin' private Detective who accompanies Hap and Leonard on their quest. I hope he returns in the next novel becuase he's just a great character.

My only gripe about this particular book in the series is that the end falls a little flat. Lansdale goes for reality more than cliche'd entertainment..but you know what, I would have preferred the cliche at the end.

Still, it's a terrif book , and fast paced enough to read in a single day. Lansdale is truly the king of Mojo.

I guess this is the lowest review anyone has given of this book so far. Note that I am only reviewing this one, not the novel before or after it, as both of those are much better. This one spends hundreds of pages on court romance, but I simply couldn't get interested in the characters. The musketeers appear here and there, but don't do much. The story doesn't really start, in my opinion, until the last few chapters of this when Raoul comes back from England. I can see why no one has tried to make a movie based on this book and instead have focused such efforts on the final, and much better, novel in the series.

Louise de la Valliere or, CSI: Fontainebleau

Louise de la Valliere is normally published as the second installment of the third volume (the Vicomte de Braggelonne) of Alexandre Dumas' musketeer romances. As other reviews tell you, this is about the relationships among King Louis' court. The musketeers play a tangential, but nevertheless pivotal, role. Rather than focus on these relationships as others reviewers have done, this review will focus on one key aspect. Louise de la Valliere may have introduced certain aspects of the classic detective novel.

Before Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes, and perhaps for the first time in popular fiction, a protagonist is tasked with the role of detective. King Louis IV sends D'Artagnan to a rolling, hilly field in Rond Point (close to the King's estate at Fontainebleau) to discover what occurred between two members of the King's court. The Comte de Guiche has been seriously wounded. Rumors circulate around the court indicating that he and a jealous rival may have participated in a duel, contrary to the King's prohibitions on such. The official story is that Guiche was wounded in a hunting accident. D'Artagnan is sent to the scene to investigate, although he is not told who the duelers were or the details of the hunting accident.

Upon returning, Dumas meticulously describes D'Artagnan's oral briefing to the King. He tells the King that two men on horseback met there, based upon his observance of the horse tracks leading to the spot.

"A hostile meeting did take place then?" asks the King.

"Undoubtedly," replies D'Artagnan.

"You are a very acute observer," the King answers.

D'Artagnan goes on, telling the King that one man was hit by a pistol-bullet in both the hand and the chest. The King asks how D'Artagnan could have determined this.

"By a very simple means: the butt end of the pistol was covered with blood, and the trace of the bullet could be observed, with fragments of a broken ring. The wounded man, in all probability, had the ring-finger and the little finger carried off."

D'Artagnan concludes by informing the King, based on his observations of the scene, that although the individual was wounded in the chest, the person survived. The wounded man was carried off the field by two acquaintances who had later arrived at the scene, according to D'Artagnan's observations.

"You are he cleverest man in my kingdom," the King tells D'Artagnan.

D'Artagnan is not normally known for his detective skills. The Musketeer romances are not detective novels. And of course, the honor of writing the first modern detective novel belongs to Edgar Allen Poe and his Dupin novels (which were written at roughly the same time as the Musketeers novels, the 1840s, and, curiously, also involved a Frenchman). Nevertheless, this novel is one of the first instances in which detective skills are put to use in popular literature, and for this, Dumas deserves credit.

This book has provided me with some of the most enjoyable ficton reading experiences I've had in a long time. The descriptions of court life and the machinations of the courtiers show Dumas at his most witty and perceptive.

It's 1661 and Louis the XIV is taking over the reign of government from his ministers. D'Artagnan is captain of the Musketeers, Aramis is now a bishop, Porthos is as big, strong and hungry as ever and Raoul, the son of Athos, is still madly in love with Louise De La Valliere. What we do see of Aramis he is plotting and scheming and has a strong interest in a mysterious prisoner in the Bastille.

Louis' effeminate brother Philippe (Monsieur) has just married Henrietta (Madame) of England, but Henrietta only has eyes for Louis (well, maybe the Duke of Buckingham and the Comte de Guiche also), an attraction that Louis returns. In order to allay suspicion of Louis' jealous brother, Louis feigns an attraction to Louise (who is one of Madame's ladies in waiting), but finds himself trapped by his own schemes when he falls in love with her. LOL, some of the antics involved in trying to be alone with Louise that are constantly hampered by Madame's efforts to keep them apart.

This book is different from the preceding novels of the Musketeers -- there is little if any of the swashbuckling, sword fights and derring do that the other books contained. This book focuses on the love story of Louis and Louise, along with the pomp, intrigues and scandals of Louis XIV's court. Although some readers will be disappointed at the virtual absence of the Musketeers in this book, I was fascinated at the glimpses of French history and court life which was beautifully sprinkled with laugh out loud humor reading the antics of the French court, most especially the "revolving" confessions at the Royal Oak tree.

If you've come this far, you've already read The Three Musketeers (Barnes & Noble Classics), Twenty Years After (Oxford World's Classics)and The Vicomte de Bragelonne (Oxford World's Classics). The Vicomte De Bragelonne was originally published in French as one large novel, but is broken into three by English publishers, The Vicomte De Bragelonne, Louise De La Valliere and finally culminating in The Man in the Iron Mask (Oxford World's Classics). As other reviewers have noted, this book is more palace intrigue and less of the Musketeers and not everyone will enjoy it as thoroughly as I did, I loved the antics of the French court and had many a good laugh. Dumas is just brilliant (as always) and his dialogue (as always) is among the finest I've ever come across. Highly recommended.

Warning - a couple of the older reviews by "a reader" on The Man in the Iron Mask contain major spoilers. If you want to be kept in the dark, don't read back too far on the reviews of that book.

I started the Three Musketeer cycle of five novels because I am an afficionado of the action/adventure story. The first two novels, The Three Musketeers and Twenty Years After exceeded my expectations. They had all the sword play and adventure that I could have ever wanted. I was thrilled with Dumas' many displays of writing virtuosity. I have never read an author who could keep the level of excitement at such a high pitch for so long.

Things start to change half way through Bragalonne. The tone of the novel shifts from a story of high adventure to a novel of love and court life. The first four hundred pages of Louise de la Valliere build upon these more domestic themes. For my taste, there are too many chance encounters of lovers in front of the Royal Oak in the mystical woods of Fontainbleu. At this point in the cycle, the tale of star struck lovers seems to come more out of a 17th Century French Drama than the three novels that immediately proceed it.

However, all is not lost. Around page four hundred, Dumas comes to his senses and brings D'Artagnan, Porthos and Planchet back into the drama. Their return breathes life back into the novel. Their presence along with Dumas' sheer genius as a story teller save what could have been a really boring novel.

I am anticipating that the Man in the Iron Mask will meet all of my action/adventure needs. The first four hundred pages of Louise de la Valliere is the dull spot one has to get through to finish the Three Musketeer cycle.

Bravo, bravo! This is the best self-taught or instructed book I have ever used! The explanations, examples and exercises are easy to understand and perform. I keep my book on the job and it occasionally disappears. Everyone that has borrowed it with or without my permission, tell me, it's really a great book. I have purchsed additional copies for my husband, daughter and friends. Thank you, ladies!

I have been using these books for over 3 years in my computer classes at the high school and in the adult learning classes in the evening. It's easy to folow and offers mouse and keyboard methods with clear, easy to follow exercises. I have purchased over 50 books for Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Windows 95 and Access classes. These books are hard to find in my area (syracuse, New York).

A very handy book, especially for people proficient in Word but not the rest of Office. If you fit this category, you will use it all the time. Nothing fancy, but it accurately and briefly describes using the Office applications on projects start to finish, as well as how to make corrrections and improvements after the fact. Good for people that need to get up and running with Excel and Access in a hurry. No wasted words. Spiral binding has been durable.

This book helped me learn office 97 verly quickly. The CD that it comes with cuts down your typing time so you have more time to work with the program. It only took me about 1 and a half months to learn how to use every office program (Word, Excel, PPT, and Access). A great gift idea for anyone that needs help with word processing.

I bought this book based on the good reviews here. I'm looking at taking my expert MOUS exams and am looking for something geared to that. This book advertises it's Microsoft Certification, but it's not for someone who is already a proficient user. If you want to know how to use menus, wizards and hotkeys, this is your text. If you want to learn about cross-tab queries, macro coding and exporting to ASP, this is not your book.