Brian Books

Brian writes a thoughtful story of common folk who explore many different political and religious topics, and have a good time doing it. He covers a lot of ground in a short time with what this protagonist thinks and discusses. Lots of fun!

Mind Transmission, Inc. is a terrific read - fast pace & exciting from start to finish. Truly takes you to another dimension. Want to read something different & see the world through the eyes of a man going through life with his eyes wide open this is the book to read.
Great Christmas present!!!!
Check this book out & go on a "free" trip by reading this book.

In his latest book, Brian has given us a wide variety of social commentary, on everything from the stigma placed on persons who have psychiatric "disorders", to the use of religion to govern the masses since antiquity. His main character "Carl" is a rambunctious sort, able to leap very low buildings in an single bound (albeit with the aid of various psychotropic molecules).
There are some mysteries presented, a UFO abduction of sorts, and many wry observations on the uptight nature of our culture.
Brian's writing reminds me of Kerouac with an updated set of molecules under his belt. Very fun reading. Go for it.

Thought provoking author, Brian Wallace shines in his startling new visionary work for the adventurous reader, Mind Transmission, Inc. His brilliantly upfront and brutally frank, no-holds-barred cynicism of current social trends leaves the reader to question their reality and roles within today's society. Showing his unique mastery of Kerouac-like stream-of-consciousness prose, Wallace blows the top off established religious dogma and stagnant political ideologies by shedding new light on their origins and fundamentals.

Mind Transmission, Inc. centers on a twenty-something Dallas residence Carl. By frequently forgetting to take his medications prescribed by his psychiatrist, Carl is besieged by wild psychedelic visions. By day, Carl works at an auto parts delivery warehouse surrounded by a cast of colorful low wage blue-collar social deviants. By befriending, Bill, a whiskey drinking, chain smoking, limerick spouting, deeply philosophical student of life, Carl continually questions religious belief systems. Carl's private life is a whirlwind of activities ranging from youthful sexual exploits to the pursuit of metaphysical understandings. By delving into the occult and both ancient and new age beliefs, Carl and his friends Pete, Robert and Sally strive to make sense of the UFO phenomenon and its relationship to the perfection of the human spirit. When Pete goes missing soon after meeting a mysterious stranger, Carl's life suddenly transforms into a rip-roaring, side-splitting adventure where reality may be as mind-bending as ingesting a sheet of acid.

In his latest novel, Mind Transmission, Inc., Brian Wallace continues to develop many of the countercultural themes that filled his first novel, Labyrinth of Chaos- mysticism, sex, friendship, drugs, and the pursuit of wisdom. But where Labyrinth of Chaos was a largely serious account of one man's quest for knowledge, Mind Transmission, Inc., is a rollicking psychedelic comedy that uses humor to explore deep philosophical questions.

At the heart of Mind Transmission, Inc. is a disturbed young man named Carl who delivers auto transmission parts during the day and enjoys the company of a procession of attractive women at night. A series of hallucinations make frequent ripples in Carl's reality, but he tries to keep these visions in check under the skeptical but caring eyes of Dr. Miller, his psychiatrist.

Carl's already-tenuous grip on reality is disrupted when his good friend Pete disappears under suspicious circumstances. Pete's disappearance sends Carl and his friends on a search beyond the limits of the physical world, and into the realms of mysticism, UFOs, and drug-enhanced mind-travel. With its extraterrestrial, occult, and countercultural dimensions, Mind Transmission, Inc. can be read as a kind of a philosophical puzzle, which is likely to shock even the most perceptive readers with its mind-bending conclusion.

What makes this novel so stimulating is the way Wallace weaves fantasy, philosophy, and social commentary into a multi-layered story that offers entertainment and insight in equal measure. Carl's comical musings on everyday modern frustrations-on topics as diverse as Wal-Mart, cell phones, and speeding tickets-coupled with his meditations on the various forms of hypocrisy in modern life, all add up to an entertaining critique of modern American culture.

Pick up this book, open it to any page and begin reading. You won't be able to put it down. From "Laughter," a poem as lovely and delicate as the azure it honors, to the detailed drawings, artistic renderings, and delightful writings, it soon becomes obvious that Nabokov saw a universe in a butterfly's wing. How fortunate we are that he left this magnificent record of his thought and activity. Begin reading anywhere and soon you will be drawn into his world, a world always colored by the butterflies and moths that were his passion. Now I have to reread his fiction with a new eye. Nabokov's passionate life and work is an inspiration to the least of us.

"From the age of seven, everything I felt in connection with a rectangle of framed sunlight was dominated by a single passion," wrote Valdimir Nabokov. "If my first glance of the morning was for the sun, my first thought was for the butterflies it would engender." This was certainly an unusual way in which to view the world and one that not many readers, even those who adore Nabokov, have shared.

In fact, the ferocity of Nabokov's obsession with butterflies has only just begun to become clear with the publication of this gorgeous new book, a volume of heretofore unpublished and uncorrected writings on the subject of butterflies, edited by Nabokov's biographer Brian Boyd, together with Michael Pyle, an expert on butterflies. All translations were done by Nabokov's son, Dmitri, who has lavished his time and talent on his father's work for several decades.

Even those of us who cannot get enough of Nabokov and cannot praise him highly enough may find more than 700 densely-printed pages on the subject of butterflies a little much. As much as we love Nabokov, do we really want to read page after page of his highly technical descriptions of the various species of butterfly? Are these writings really important, from a scientific viewpoint? Is there any connection between Nabokov's passion for butterflies and his extraordinary fiction?

Although most people would probably answer "no" to the first two questions, the answer to the third is a surprisingly enthusiastic, "yes."

In his wonderful introduction, Boyd begins to elucidate the connections between Nabokov the writer and Nabokov the lepidopterist. We come to understand the novelist more completely and precisely by coming to understand that science that gave this unique author "a sense of reality that should not be confused with modern (or postmodern) epistemological nihilism."

It was while dissecting and deciphering his butterflies that Nabokov came to the conclusion that the more we inquire, the more we can discover, yet the more we discover, the more we find we do not know. The world, Nabokov says, is infinitely detailed, complex and deceptive.

Nabokov's important writings on butterflies are reproduced in this volume, but thankfully, in reduced form. And other kinds of writing by Nabokov have been blended over the scientific prose, beginning with the luminous meditation on butterflies from Chapter Six of Speak, Memory.

The poems, memoirs, letters, diary entries, criticism and fiction that make up this beautiful volume cover a period from 1941 to 1947, when Nabokov was at his most obsessive...as far as butterflies are concerned. This obsessiveness, however, is gorgeous to behold, as in a letter from Nabokov to Edmund Wilson about a lecture trip he made to Sweet Briar College. "The weather...was perfectly dreadful and except for a few Everes comyntas there was nothing on the wing." It always came down to butterflies.

Nabokov's interest in butterflies went far beyond sorting out and naming them. He was much more than a mere tabulator or categorizer. There is something exquisitely metaphysical, even mystical, about his approach to butterflies, something that also tells us of his quest to plumb the depths of nature's complexity. In his obsession, Nabokov sought to understand the sense of design that underlies the the physical world, and he also took enormous delight in the mysteries God chose to hide from human beings, leaving to them to seek them out or not.

As Boyd notes, Nabokov "preferred the small type to the main text, the obscure to the obvious, the thrill of finding for himself what was not common knowledge." His scientific writings overflow with minutiae, with obscure details, lovingly searched out, sorted, underlined, displayed. This preference for the complexity of life also underscores his writings, most notably his massive commentary on Pushkin's Onegin, the gorgeous and imaginative Pale Fire and Ada, a late masterpiece in which Nabokov's penchant for complexity reached spellbinding heights.

While only a small percentage of readers may want to study the scientific articles in this book, their very presence operates in the most subtle of ways to remind us that Nabokov, who referred to himself as VN, was also a student "of that other VN, Visible Nature." In his magnificent fiction, Nabokov offered the world a complete view of the complexity and richness of the human spirit. He might not have been so meticulous and so thorough were it not for his passion for the intricate world of butterflies, so beautifully on view in this book.

Yes, this book is the perfect companion to Nabokov's Blues and the stories of Lepidoptera spun in Nabokov's own Speak, Memory and Strong Opinions. You won't get the narrative read of Nabokov's scientific career as so aptly written by Johnson and Coates last year, but this is different fare-- the hard stuff-- letters, excerpts, drawings, complete works, interviews, speeches and expert commentary. Also, the book goes into all the aspects of Nabokov's work on butterflies, including the projects he did not complete. With this book and the other books of the centennial there will no further doubt about Nabokov's important contribution to science and the fact that, even minus literature, he could have made quite a name for himself in that field alone.

The prize is an unfinished short story, "The Admirable Anglewing", at an immediate stage of note-taking on index cards. It's an intriguing dead end, identifiably a two-strata Nabokov, but with a strikingly scientific directness not elsewhere seen.

The bonus is an unpublished continuation of The Gift (tr. Dmitri Nabokov), which formulates a general expression of evolutionary theory in a clear and useful way, as it relates to a larger understanding of problems in taxonomy, probably omitted for the same reason "The Admirable Anglewing" was dropped.

Notes for The Butterflies Of Europe, much of Nabokov's lepidopterological work (Russia obviously lost a lepidopterist of genius), "butterfly" excerpts from the fiction, and of course much, much more...

12 Exotic Brazilian Butterflies In a high Quality Frame 12.5" x 8.5" (Current bid: $65.00) * 12 Exotic Brazilian Butterflies In a high Quality Frame 12.5" x 8.5" (Current bid: $65.00)

I sincerely hope that these other items you recommend to potential buyers of this book, are NOT butterflies that were caught in Brazil and shipped to the USA, nor ideally even butterflies breed in the US especially for the purpose of later gracing someone's wall. Not very environmentally sound at all if the former, and karmically, still just as bad if the latter. I do not think that the editors of Nabakov's Butterflies would support this at all, even if they are all avid butterfly enthusiasts. Leave the butterflies in peace!

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A good old fashioned tale told around the fire, full of might and primal emotions of lonely wants and needs, but full of hope for the far reaching future. A true primitive fantasy of innocent friendships admist the rise of the first civilization known to man.

How fascinating to read of characters (Gilgamesh, Enkidu) who for me and doubtless many others, only live as strange names from Earth's earliest recorded history. At long last a novel (Never Grow Old) brings them fully to life, their rich personas captivating the reader so that each page of their story flys by with an eagerness to read on. Brian Trent has an incredible ability to create characters that live on for the reader after the last page is turned. His passion for history, his skill as a writer and his superb handling of historical dramas assure the reader of powerful personalities that remain forever indelible, adding a new dimension other authors have seldom explored. Never have I read historical fiction that is as informative, exciting and unforgettable. "Remembering Hypatia", and now "Never Grow Old", has me eagerly awaiting Brian's next book.

Brian Trent really captures the story of Gilgamesh and re-creates a world so believable that the novel draws in the reader. After reading the first chapter I was so involved in the story that I actually called out of work to finish the novel. Brian Trent's newest novel may yet prove that this writer is a true intellect of history that even a story thousands of years old makes the reader feel as if the epic story of Gilgamesh happened only yesterday. I hope more people buy this book and become lost in the story of Gilgamesh.

This is a beautifully written and timeless novel of a young man growing into his role as king. Thoroughly absorbed by the lives of the main character, his friends, and his enemies, the reader faces the emotions and experiences common to all humanity, including pride, forgiveness, power, helplessness, rage, love, death, deceit, loyalty, bravery, terror, and humor. I laughed at, loved, feared, loathed, identified with and was shocked by the characters, in turn. The historical details are fascinating and add to one's sense of being drawn into the story. I literally could not put Never Grow Old down, and had it finished the day after I started it.

To be honest I've never heard all that much about the myth of Gilgamesh. So reading this book, I had no idea what to expect. Fortunately, that made for a pleasant surprise.

So, for other clueless people like myself, Gilgamesh is the God-King of Uruk, one of the city states of the Fertile Crescent. At the age of twenty, he feels his largest contribution as King has been to build a wall encircling the city for defense, and he wants to be remembered forever for great deeds. So when Enkidu, the very last of a tribe of semi-mystical beings (in reality I think he's a Neanderthal) emerges from the forest, Gilgamesh befriends him. Together they accomplish many great things, but Gilgamesh still wants immortality in some form or another. So when sent on a quest by Ishtar, the goddess of Uruk who lives in the city, Gilgamesh jumps at the dangerous task.

Even though this novel is based on a myth, the story within walks a fine line between science and mysticism. There are gods and goddesses who are present-but are they truly gods or are they people representing the gods? There are beasts of strange appearance-are the demons are just animals from another age that are the last of their kind? Is Enkidu really some type of magical being or he just something different? It was nice to see something that is shrouded in so much social history and mysticism, as all myths are, maintain the sort of beyond the real scope while being something that a normal, modern, science drenched person can relate to.

All in all, I really liked this book. I did find it to be somewhat of a slow starter, but after a certain point I just couldn't put it down. I was up late finishing this book. One thing that would have been nice: maps! Diagrams of the cities, of the temples....I'm an anthro major so I know what some of this stuff looks like but it's hard imagining buildings and cities from pre-history. Also a certain map plays a MAJOR role in this story and it would have been nice to see it. Still this is definitely something I would recommend and it's nice for me, as someone who mostly reads books by female authors, to find a male author I can really get into.

Four point five stars.

To the author: you tried to contact me, but I have no way to get back to you, so I'm getting back to you through this review. There is no email address on your Amazon profile and your website, for some reason, will not let me send an email. So, if you want to contact me, please email me at [...] . Thank you very much for your offer (does it refer to this book or another one? Because the moment I finished "Remembering Hypatia" I ordered this and I certainly hope another novel is coming soon) and I'm glad you liked my review.

Thank you Mr. Brian Daley for expanding a good story and making it GREAT!
If I haven't heard it on NPR when I was young or read the book years later, I
would not have created my own radio drama. If you love radio dramas and
science fiction, please visit my web site below. May the force be with you,
always.....

Mark McLaughlin - [...]

My main purpose in ordering this book was to find out what had been cut from the series after its first airing. I have only heard the second version that was aired, which was released on cassette and CD. I must say the small edits that were made, and they were all infinitesimal, actually make the audio series better. They're little excesses that when removed clearly improve the flow of the series. The one bit I wish they had left in was an extended exchange between Han and Luke before the turret sequence. Han tells Luke to lead his targets and "Invest in the future", a classic Han-sounding line.

It should be noted that this appears to be a first or second draft of the script. This becomes obvious when Heater is referred to several times as "Preacher" which I assume was the first name of the character in the script. Also, the dialogue overall is not as polished as it is in the series. Editing may have been done by someone other than Daley, or even the actors themselves, which would explain why Daley only had this version to give to the publisher.

If you've never listened to the series, do so before buying the book. I think it's much more interesting as an example of how editing can turn good writing into great writing than as a piece of writing itself.

I am a Star Wars fan, like most everyone else in my generation. If you are like me, having lived and breathed Star Wars at one time or another during your life, you really owe it to yourself to listen to the Star Wars Radio Drama casettes, available from Amazon. Click here, here and here to link to the casette versions, although I found a boxed set of CDs from Amazon that really kicked. These audio versions are terrific, offering tons of material not in the movies, background on all characters, great acting by Anthony Danielt and Mark Hamil, great audio and sound effects, and much more. Recommended to all Gen X'ers. END

After reading the books and listening to the audio adaptions, I can't watch the movies anymore. Buy the CDs/Cassetes...to borrow a line from Garrison Keillor, the pictures are better. Anthony Daniels intro and insight was worth the jacket price.

I am a Star Wars fan, like most everyone else in my generation. If you are like me, having lived and breathed Star Wars at one time or another during your life, you really owe it to yourself to listen to the Star Wars Radio Drama casettes, available from Amazon. Here is the casette versions, although I found a boxed set of CDs from Amazon that really kicked, but you have to search the Amazon database forever to find it. These audio versions are terrific, offering tons of material not in the movies, background on all characters, great acting by Anthony Danielt and Mark Hamil, great audio and sound effects, and much more. Recommended to all Gen X'ers.

this made me laugh. i think his ideas are crazy and funny. my teacher said this was good and i think so to. i will read the book again.

I had to read a book this summer and read this one. I did a book report. It has funny things in it. I liked the story about the gangs and pets best. I don't like reading but this was not boring.

This book is filled with short stories that are very attention grabbing and full of "being a kid" action. The stories teach important lessons incorporating some of the values students have lost. Brian's book is very easy to read and with its intended design, the stories are condensed so to keep the attention of the reader. I believe the reading level is approximately middle school level. It is a wonderful teaching tool and the kids just love it. This can be read orally or individually. Thank you Brian for giving us such a valuable teaching tool!

This book was fun. Patrick does interesting things. He is funny. I like the stories.

Brian McNabb has given us a very satisfying group of stories, all about a normal boy growing up and making choices about who he wants for friends and about how he should conduct himself in his world of family and school and town. All the stories are told from the point of view of a young narrator between the ages of about 7 and 13. McNabb's talent comes in giving us an authentic voice. We hear a boy, not an adult pretending to be a boy. "Neckbreaker", though awkwardly titled, is my favorite of the stories. As it follows our hero over a period of several months, we see him gain insight into himself and others. It's a lovely rendition of an oft told tale. Much to McNabb's credit, he resists the urge to moralize. The stories are good as stories, they are enjoyable. Well done.

I'm sorry I have not fluency in English, however I can say that I'm satisfied with the book "Optimal Filtering (Dover Books on Engineering)" and your service.
thank you.

I usually buy books here because they always arrive in time and in prefect conditions, even the used ones! As I live in Brazil, it's really a serious delivery system, because it's not easy to send so far!

It is very useful to study the Bayesian optimal filtering.

This book is already a classics in signal processing. If you are serious in optimal control, linear estimation or general signal processing, get this book to have a look, you might be benefited from it. I am glad to see Dover reprint this out of print classics at reasonable price.

This is an excellent book. I often see it referenced, in the old edition from Prentice Hall, in IEEE papers written by "old important guys" (and gals of course) indicating that it carries some weight amongst people in the know.

It treats aspects of filtering, from the ground up, in a mathematically correct way. You do need to be comfortable with matrix analysis, calculus, certainly random processes, and have some level of "mathematical sophistication" (that elusively defined quality.) As a supplement to a course in Statistical Signal Processing where you use the book by, say, Kay, it would be very good (and much cheaper than Kay.) I'm not sure how Dover selects their catalogue of books, but they certainly do a good job of picking up the lagged copyright from big publishers, of very good older books.

The book is written by a couple of Aussies who begin each chapter with the salutation "G'day Mate!" (**) and end each chapter with "Good on yer Cobber," and also, confusingly, refer to each other as "Bruce" throughout the book. The book is good enough for you to be able to overlook these nationalistic quirks. They also use tracking problems, in the section on Kalman filtering, taken from Aussie Rules football, as a player tracks the ball through the air, before he is clobbered by an opponent. This is a good example of tracking, whether you are a Raytheon missile engineer, or an Aussie rules footballer. They even use a more complicated example where the player tracks both the ball and the other player (the clobberer). This example could probably be generalized to missile defense.

In summary, this really is a good book on filtering, especially the core material of Wiener filtering and Kalman filtering. Highly recommended. Good on yer Cobbers!! (Bruce and Bruce, that is.)

**Disclaimer: Some of this review is a fictionalised account of a review.

Of "our world, our wooden world," as O'Brian wrote in the Nutmeg of Consolation. As an O'Brian devotee who is compiling a quotation book for naval officers and mariners (The Literary Mariner; look for it next year), I have found this Muster Book to be more useful, in its own way, than even Dean King's excellent Sea of Words. King's work is mostly a wonderful timesaver--you needn't hunt up terms in other reference books--but Gary Brown's POB Muster Book is unique and indispensable: no where else will you find the attention paid to and the cross-referenced information on the characters, ships, and animals of the entire Aubrey-Maturin series (what one reviewer called the Aubreyiad, a term I like very much).

Once the book was in hand, for example, I was able very quickly to answer three questions that had been bothering me: was Awkward Davis and Awkward Davies the same man (yes); were the Dumanoirs mentioned separate characters (yes); and what were the names of the various cannon in Surprise.

There is a very useful and succinct summary outlining the entire series, and the lengthy essays on each of the major characters also walks through all the books from that character's perspective (warning: if you haven't read the Aubreyiad through, these will be spoilers). Gary Brown also makes good use of helpful references to biographies (Dean King's and Nikolai Tolstoy's--see my Amazon reviews) and to historical works. This is simply a stunning achievement.

As an academic, I was first introduced to O'Brian by a colleague who thought I might find it interesting to compare O'Brian's works to Jane Austen's. As I did so I became convinced that there was more than a chance connection between the authors' works, but with O'Brian's expansive Aubreyiad, trying to corroborate the simplest connection became so time consuming it was discouraging. I happened across the first edition of this book on Amazon, ordered it, and three published academic articles later, it may well be the most indispensable work in my library. So much so, that when a newer edition came out that included the last few novels O'Brian wrote, I had to have it. I haven't been disappointed. Whether you're a "fan" or an academic, Gary Brown's meticulous research is sure to add to your understanding and appreciation of the genius of Patrick O'Brian.

I must say that my recent purchase of "PO's Muster Book" is worth the investment. I wish I had bought it sooner.

I am not quite finished with all 20 and 1/2 volumes of the O'Brian 19th century odyssey, having only finished the first 18, but I became an Aubrey/Maturin junkie after reading the first two novels and watching the movie. Comprehending the wealth of people, places and events, real and imagined, combined with a liberal use of foriegn languages was difficult and intimidating. I was often confused, because I didn't readily remember names and places from one chapter to the next.

Fortunately, before I started no. 5, I discovered, through Amazon, the companion books advertized there. I purchased "Sea Of Words", "Harbors And High Seas" and "Patrick O'Brian's Navy". Problem solved. I constantly cross referenced my new literary tools several times a chapter to interpret the rich mix of story and detail woven together in O'Brian's romantic chronology. The downside is that I needed to carry a tote when I went to read at the coffee shop as well as use an extra chair to hold my not so portable library.

Recently, I have added "The Patrick O'Brian Muster Book" and I immediately liked using it. Actually, it could be a "stand alone" companion book, except that it is absent of maps, diagrams, pictures or a commentary on the life and times. I know that this type information is beyond the scope of "Muster" by nature, so, my other books are still important to me, just not needed by the night stand.

That said, I am pleased with the appearance, organization and thoroughness of "Muster". Formatted like Webster's, it is highly informational and allows quick alphabetical access to the who and the where along with the what and the when not as easily accomplished by the other companion books. I can quickly remind myself of the names and places and not lose track of the story in doing so. Additionally, it lists all O'Brian's books with a Cliff Notes style summary and along with each item is the cross reference of all mentions in the series by book and chapter. It has helpful optional references to deliniate the fact from fiction.

While I finish the series and re-read it, as I'm sure I will, "Muster" will be my favorite companion. Now, when I'm reading on the plane, I won't have as much baggage.

There are other companion books to Patrick O'Brian's world and works, but none better than this one. Being a foreigner and rather a recent fan, I really need the help of such books to attain at least the merest understanding of what's going on, so I own several others which I enjoyed enormously. However none is so complete and helpful as this one. Most recommendable.

Anthony Gary Brown's "The Patrick O'Brian Muster Book" is truly the ultimate literary companion volume for O'Brian's Aubrey-Maturin nautical historical novels. Every serious fan of the series should get a copy. Every named person, animal, ship, or even cannon gets its own entry, very often exploring obscure references (and nicely cross-referencing multiple appearances throughout the series). This new edition of Brown's work covers the entire series, including the twenty-first volume left unfinished at O'Brian's death. It serves to enhance reading (and re-reading) the novels and will provide many hours of pleasant browsing for the serious fan.

Plain and simple this book is amazing. I do not need to try and use a bunch of poetic words to emphasize the love this book leaves you longing for. The book places you in a different world in every poem. The writing flows well and the feelings are very intense. I anxiously wait for Mr. Douthits' next publication!!

One of those little jewels to read at any time. Each poem leaves you with something to think about and ponder. Beautifully done.

Each piece cradled within Brian Douthit's "Perfectly Said: when word becomes art" seems to be penned by a poet at peace in his place. All darkness is bypassed by the light of the love in his life. The torment alluded to in "Pleasurable Frustration" is delightfully desirous...

You delve into me deeply
Discovering facets I didn't fathom
Making me yearn for innocent folly
And wish for blasphemous rhythm
~pg. 48

It is the edge drawn in delicate hues that leads the reader to believe that the man gives in to the bite of passion despite the all-consuming love for his mate, and that nibble leads way to her melting into "them".

The lines:

She is the enigma
I strain to explain
yet in her eyes
I fathom infinity
~pg. 22

drawing "I Fathom Infinity" to a close, prove case in point. The unexplainable is given definition within the knowing that she is what makes him what he needs to be forever. As in "Perfectly Said":

She is light and tender grace
and the world is joy around me..
~pg. 11

there is no better way to explain all that leaves him at a loss for words in her presence. Their forays into a sensual place are couched in natural metaphors that bring an appreciation for God's creations even as your breath catches and you chew your nail to the quick.

To balance his equator in rhyme and time, Brian forays into deep questions with a grand attempt to answer them as he ponders "Answers to Everlasting Strands". Yet his sadly sweet dedication to Polly Klaas in "Polly's High Firefly Season" leaves us feeling her loss with each winking glimpse of a firefly dance. These brief and subtle glimpses into another shade of Brian's heartening character, in my humble opinion, are summed up in the last four lines of this book..

Meaning is found in many different places
Each of us different in how we choose to live
It could be a church, garden, or newborn faces
The real meaning, is how we love and give
~pg.86

A healthy respect for the reader's sensibilities glosses over any intrusion of the world's perception of the art of poetry. An exquisitely written book, offered in such a beguiling form is well worth the read and the time spent to read his words over and over again. A gem to be cherished and not left to gather dust on a far reaching shelf but to be thumbed, tic'd, dog-eared and worn to a condition of scotch- taped glory. This poet, as a person and a writer, is proof positive that sometimes God breaks the mold when he creates a "Master" without bowing to the stereotype of a man.

It has been my pleasure to make the acquaintance of Brian Douthit and to be included in his "Eyes of the Poet" project. Sharing the vision of contributing to the survival of poetry, my only hope is that we, as part of the Poetry in Motion movement, are successful in resurrecting poetry as a renewed art form.

~Diane Anjoue,
Author of Collection de Jolie-Laide, wanting to be lost within...
(...)

One of the characteristic's of Brian's voice is that it is coupled with humility as it expresses delicate love. I have a sense while reading his poetry that each line is eloquently penned as gently as one would carry a precious item home to a loved one after a long journey.

There is a lack of self consciousness within the pages of this love, a lack of ego centricism, as one glimpses into the most private elements of true love, and is drawn in with an old fashioned style of charm, so that it is moving to the soul.

Brian's devotion to poetry as an art form is also evident in the style he has carefully chosen to lay the words on the page. Each page offers a new breath of love. Without any sense of cunning or excessiveness, he moves us into a Renaissance of beauty and life interwoven with grace and innocence.

Clearly his poems are made from a large knowing, a greater sense of wisdom, and human relations, as he translates not only his heart, but tenderly of those he loves and might love.

One cannot help to go back again and again into the full spectrum of his emotions and style of expressing love here on earth. That in fact love is alive and not dead. It is not the end of love, not the end of the world, because as one reads Brian's poetry one discovers it is just the beginning of a revival in love.

What great poetry in this book. I absolutely love it! A definate must have for the poetry lover...

I certainly qualify as an addict. For the last five years, in addition to my other reading, I have always been in the middle of one of the twenty Aubrey/Maturin novels. I'm now in my fifth (sixth?) reading of the series. These novels are so rich in period detail and characterization I can't imagine getting tired of them.

As other addicts know, part of the charm of the novels are the numerous obscure and offhand references to various "Persons, Animals, Ships and Cannon." Mr. Brown's handsome, very well written dictionary of ALL of those references is a delightful companion clarifying many nuances in in O'Brian's prose. Actually, it's a joy just browsing through the book without one of the novels at your side.

The book also includes two insightful summaries of each novel, one from Aubrey's point of view and one from Maturin's, as well as descriptions of O'Brian's rare inconsistencies and errors in plotting from novel to novel.

How on earth I ever managed to enjoy Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey-Maturin novels before reading Anthony Gary Brown's wonderful dictionary is a mystery. Brown's book is a must have for all those who wish to get the most out of reading O'Brian's excellent naval stories.

This book is an astonishing piece of research, a listing and historical analysis of thousands of items--well, characters, animals, ships, and cannons--from Patrick O'Brian's series of novels. I cannot imagine how he did it, but what a delightful treat for the rest of us. This book is not just an indispensible companion to the Aubrey-Maturin novels; it's also a great pleasure just to leaf through and read. If you like the O'Brian's books you need to have this one too.

Anthony Gary Brown's "Persons, Animals, Ships and Cannon in the Aubrey-Maturin Sea Novels" is a wonderful resource for anyone who loves the nautical fiction of Patrick O'Brian. The depth and breadth of research evident in this companion volume to the Aubrey-Maturin series is truly awe-inspiring. Every "proper name" reference -- no matter how slight or obscure -- has been diligently tracked and, where ever possible the historical reality behind the fictional is revealed. Characters I had assumed to be merely creations of Patrick O'Brian's imagination are shown by Gary Brown to be based in actual persons. Whenever Stephen Maturin speaks of an obscure botanist or philosopher, Brown has explained who he or she was and what was the significance of their work. There are many, many hours of delightful browsing in this volume for any Patrick O'Brian fan.

I've been sampling this book for a couple of weeks and I can't tell you how much I've been enjoying it! For a fan of the Aubrey/Maturin books its almost as good as having a new POB come out! I think of someone I want to look up, then by the time I've read that entry I've been led to another, and then another and I keep stumbling on the most amazing facts and interesting historical stories.While just keeping track of all the names in the books is useful enough, the "enhanced" information - all the details about "real" people and ships and historical events - is the most exciting treasure for me.I can not begin to imagine the hours and hours invested in this masterpiece, though the careful attention to details and proofreading suggest it was a labor of love. All I can say is that I'm very grateful to the author for having written it. It will make reading and re-reading the Aubrey/Maturin books an even greater delight, and for me at least, it will lead deeper into the historical literature behind the series.Every bookstore in the country should stock this on the shelves next to the Aubrey/Maturin books so new converts will have it in hand right from the start.

This book is a great book for teaching about synonyms. It really helps the students get a better understand of what it is.

Brian Cleary has done it again. Pich and Throw, Grasp and Know: What is a Synonym delights and intriques children of all ages with ingenous use of synonyms. Add this to the outstanding collection he has given us already. Thank you for making English grammar so much fun.

Great stuff. Interesting word choices. Those crazy cartoon cats. I love how in this series of books which explains synonyms, homonyms, adverbs, pronouns, prepositions and more, Cleary can take the complex and make it simple, funny and teachable. He's also written one of my favorite books of poetry-- RAINBOW SOUP; ADVENTURES IN POETRY.

This book is a must for any school classroom and a fun read at home too. It is excellent for teaching what synonyms are and introducing great vocabulary words to boot. I highly recommend.

Energetically illustrated in a colorful cartoon style by Brian Gable, Pitch And Throw, Grasp And Know: What Is A Synonym? provides young readers with informative and entertaining explanations and illustrations of just what synonyms are. Also highly recommended for school and community library collections (and ideal for use by home schoolers) are the other outstanding and thoroughly "kid friendly' titles of the Carolrhoda Books series on the English language: Dearly, Nearly, Insincerely: What Is An Adverb?; Hairy, Scary, Ordinary: What Is An Adjective?; I And You And Don't Forget Who: What Is A Pronoun?; A Mink, A Fink, A Skating Rink: What Is A Noun?; To Root, To Toot, To Parachute: What Is A Verb?; Under, Over, By The Clover: What Is A Preposition.