Boyd Books

I read the book beginning to end.I found it fascinating to see the heritage and roots of my family. I don't know how interesting someone other than a historian or a descendant of Lt. Fortson would find the book, but I loved reading of their survival in the original colonies.

Accurate agriculture books are hard to come by. Chris Peterson uses her own experience on the farm to help convey the message of modern agriculture. The MN Farm Bureau Federation Promotion and Education Committee selected Fantastic Farm Machines as their 2007 Book of the Year.

Fascination by William Boyd is a set of sixteen short stories. This may not sound either surprising or original until one considers their form. The author uses at least nine different and clearly identifiable forms in which to present this work. One takes the form of a video. There are childhood memories, a diary, a journal, an A-to-Z listing. One story is a set of dialogues over lunch. Another is a set of monologues. And William Boyd's use of these different forms is not just a writer's trick to impress a critic. In each case to form complements the story, adds interpretation to the events and helps our understanding of the characters. Fascination is thus no less than a fascinating read, a tour de force in miniature by a great writer.

Clyde and Wendy Watson have done it again! This time they have taken jingles from Father Fox's Pennyrhymes and Catch Me & Kiss Me & Say it again and set them to music for pianos and guitars. Clyde was a musician for a while, so that's one reason why she set her poetry to music. These songs like the poems go well with the beautiful illustrations by Wendy. Father Fox's Pennyrhymes and Catch Me and Kiss Me and Say it again were my son Robert's favorite books to buy for people who were having babies. We are shocked that both those books, umlike the songbook, are out of print. We hope that the publishing company will start making and selling them again!

Jack Anderson was an investigative journalist who broke major stories of the 1970s oil crisis. James Boyd contributed to many magazines. The "energy crisis" was created by collusion to justify higher oil prices. Big Oil does not want "energy independence" because they profit from scarcity even if higher oil prices lead to a recession. The Federal Reserve (a private cartel) devalued the US dollar in 1971; this caused the "inflation" that damaged the USA. That alone explains the tenfold rise in the price of oil and the economic distress (p.ix). The authors concentrate on the price in dollars without referencing the lowered value. Higher oil prices transfer wealth to the oil-exporting nations and oil companies. Richard Nixon and Henry Kissinger were responsible for the oil catastrophe (p.xiii).

The problem for the oil companies in the 1950s was to hold down production to drive up prices (p.10). Chapter 1 provides a short history of oil politics and US support (p.25). In 1968 Big Oil put their money on Nixon (p.30). Nixon's removal in 1974 saw a reduction in the oil depletion allowance. They rate politicians (p.42). Chapter 3 says US energy resources (oil, gas, coal) were greater than any demand for the next century. Foreign oil imports were cheaper (p.49). The US has one-third of the known coal supplies (p.51). The US tax code benefitted oil companies that switched to foreign imports (p.56). Laws held down natural gas development to benefit oil companies. Nixon ended controls on foreign investment, domestic oil became more expensive (p.78). The energy crisis was planned, it was not an accident (p.159). Nixon wanted a dependency on oil imports (p.163).

Chapter 8 describes the economics and politics of foreign oil production. Oil companies want less production to keep prices high, oil producing countries was more production for taxes and royalties. The actions of Nixon and Carter show control by Big Oil (p.255) and higher oil prices (p.256). Nixon appeased the oil producers (p.275). Higher oil prices resulted in higher profits (p.287); consumers lost out. Nixon's policies created future energy shortfalls. The "Clean Air Act" led to a reduction in coal, price controls stifled the use of natural gas. The Naval Petroleum District in Alaska is reserved for a future World War III (p.294). Nixon's price controls managed the economy to benefit his re-election campaign (p.286).

Chapter 11 notes the prices of oil increased more than four times during Nixon's terms (p.308). All Presidents have been servants of Big Oil. Kissinger worked for the Rockefellers (p.313). When Nixon left office US influence on the oil world was minimal (p.318). OPEC was able to reduce oil production below normal demand and then raise prices (p.321). This cutback forced increased efficiency for oil users. Low cost Middle Eastern oil could always undersell any competitor. France developed nuclear power for its electricity. [So did the New England states.] Nixon's price controls on oil stopped domestic development, Ford and Carter did little (pp.327-328). Reagan's anti-regulation policies opposed the steps needed for any future emergency (p.341). But the high price of oil led to improved energy efficiency (p.337).

This 1983 book tells about the politics of Nixon, Ford, and Carter. This book would be a faster read if edited to reduce redundancies.

If so, I'm sure you have some rods and tackle in need of repair. We found this book to be a comprehensive guide for the care of all of our fishing equipment: Rods & Reels, Lures and Lines and more. It shows you show to mend a broken rod right while you are fishing; how to check and lubricate your reels; fix irreplaceable lures (that helps the pocketbook); and more. We found it an invaluable guide that pays for itself.

A Field Guide to the Pine Barrens of New Jersey could easily be called "Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about the Jersey Pines". Part history lesson, part field guide, it covers its past and present in quite some detail. Its an amateur naturalist's dream, and an outstanding resource for native New Jersyites who want to know a bit more about this uniquie wilderness area.

The book can be divided into two parts. The first part covers the Pine Barren's . It starts with its ecological history (soil, climate,etc.) followed by utilitarian and development uses(from mining of iron ore to cranberry farming), then its historic sites and folklore (from Smithville to Batsto to the infamous Jersey Devil) and finally, it touches upon current and future uses and preservation.

The presentation in the first part is short, straightforeward, fact-based essays taking up less than the first 100 pages.

The next 300 pages or so serve as the Golden Book/Peterson Field Guide to the plants, mammals, birds, reptiles/amphibians, fishes and arthorpods/insects of the Pine Barrens, respectively. There is a plethora of illustrations accompanying the text, and although lacking the ID markings of the Peterson Field Guides, are excellent nontheless and seem to cover nearly all (if not all) of the species presented here.

In addition, there are plenty of footnotes and references for those with a bent towards the scinece part of nature, as well as a decent index with both latin and common names.

I also recommend a Natural History of Trees, Peterson's Field Guide to Ecology and the Tracker, by Tom Brown, Jr.

I read this book a few years ago, and as I began reading it I loved it more and more. It is a love story and mystery. The plot is wonderful and she really makes you feel for the characters. This would make a great movie. This was the only book I read from Joanna Hines, but I will definitely read more of her work.!

This book (wich probably isn't the final helping) is so funny (And I'm not just saying this because I'm his nephew). If you like redneck jokes, this is a must read.

FIREBUG is a great mystery story for readers 8-12. It's fast-paced with lots of action in each chapter and plenty of suspects to choose from. When 12 year-old Haley arrives to help out at her uncle's guest ranch in Sedona, Arizona she decides to find out who set one of the new cabins on fire. She learns that her uncle has been getting threats in the mail. Does someone want to ruin his business? Or are they after the tresaure that is rumored to be buried on the old ranch? Is her new friend Zach part of the solution or part of the problem? This book is a real page-turner and will keep readers engaged until the final page.