Brian Books

This book is author Stephen Frantzich's look at the founding father of C-Span. Never elected to office, nor appointed to a policy-making position, Lamb's impact on American politics undeniably supercedes that of many individuals whose titles and positions imply greater influence. For over a quarter century now, Lamb's brainchild has moved from an unknown niche network to the network of record for public affairs - yet few people know much about this man. Self-effacing and modest, Lamb shies away from the public eye (even to the point of disallowing a mention of his own name on the network he created).

Brian Lamb's earlier experiences as a student in the Midwest, public affairs officer in the Navy, White House staffer, Capitol Hill press secretary, and media columnist all influenced his view of the world - and his story has implications well beyond C-Span. Lamb's style introduces key entrepreneurial strategies and outlines a management style whose basic components could be used in a variety of settings.

The book is highly readable, and Brian Lamb is a truly interesting subject.

Few non-elective citizens have made as much of an impact on the American political scene in the past three decades as Brian Lamb, the man principally responsible for bringing the on-floor deliberations and the public hearings Congress onto the television screens of the American people through C-SPAN (the House) and C-SPAN 2 (the Senate). Of special note is the weekend dedication of C-SPAN 2 to authors, books, and publishing with respect to public issues and political events. Now the story of how all this was accomplished is superbly presented in "Founding Father: How C-SPAN's Brian Lamb Changed Politics In America" by Stephen E. Frantzich (Professor of Political Science, U.S. Naval Academy). Informed, informative, and superbly written, readers are provided with background insight into how Brian Lamb managed to create (and get funded) a non-commercial television operation that is even-handed and highly praised by Democrats, Republicans, Independents, Academics, and political science enthusiasts from all walks of life. Enhanced with an extensive Notes section and a comprehensive Index, "Founding Father" is an essential acquisition for both academic and community library Political Science and American Biography collections -- as well as being a 'must read' title for the legions of C-SPAN viewers who appreciate Brian Lamb's enduring contribution to political discourse and decision making for both the Congress and the American public.

The book is just simply hilarious and I actually learned a lot about golf and I suppose also about life, politics, immigration, marriage, sex, divorce, friendship and myself (my golf game, and also that my sense of humor which lacks political correctness occasionally is shared with others). I learned a lot of new twists on the golf wagers that hopefully I can put into practice soon.

I would have liked a hole map in each chapter (I guess I am just not imaginative enough to visualize from the great descriptions)and I would love an index at the back or an italicization throughout to help find the jokes and great golf stories that were sprinkled generously throughout.

While I may not have honed my literary critic skills, I am a golfer (I shout fore and shoot 6's) and I have enjoyed great comic golf reads before ("Who's your caddy?","Somewhere in Ireland..", etc...) and this is one of the best. Feherty and Reilly better watch out - Harriss can take 'em with the word and, I don't know, but maybe with the club also.

Great fun read for everybody, especially the golfer. Do another, Mr. Harriss.

Alfred Hitchcock held that there are no great stories, only great characters. Brain Harriss has proven him only half right in Foursome Follies by gathering four great characters into what is undeniably a great story. The novel follows a group of four golfers on the first round of the season, each offering unique insights about how they think about the game and about life along the way. It is by turns bright, yet poignant; sharp, witty, sometimes wildly funny, sometimes mildly sacrilegious. It is at all times a well-paced and entertaining read that would be at home either at the beach or in a leather-bound library of classics.

Mr. Harriss carefully blends popular humor and a generally optimistic tone to package his philosophies, which are admittedly didactic at various points throughout the novel. It is this seriousness of purpose, though, that separates this book from the mass of other, far inferior works on the subject of golf. One gets the sense that Mr. Harriss really wants you to improve not only your golf game, but your life as well. He characters bear this out-while they are each unique voices, they are a chorus when it comes to the central theme: In golf, as in life, a positive attitude and an ability to genuinely enjoy ones' self are more far important than being really good. Skill is frivolity without "joi de vivre".

What I particularly enjoyed about Mr. Harriss work was the subtle yet elegant use of mathematical constructions throughout the novel: Four characters, eighteen holes, symmetrical pacing and construction throughout. This conceit in ingenious in that it subconsciously creates a comfortable and solid foundation for the reader, which makes the deeper meaning of the work more approachable. Much like old Bugs Bunny cartoons are meaningful and hilarious on several levels, Foursome Follies is imbued with a certain mystical quality that will make the reader shake his head in astounded disbelief even as he is doubled over from a good belly laugh. Like a well composed piece of music, Mr. Harriss sets his strings vibrating on multiple harmonics here, hinting at a structural complexity that a Dan Brown would envy. Unlike Dan Brown, however, who eventually must spell out every last detail for his readers, Mr. Harriss believes in the intelligence of his public. He allows them to connect the dots in his multi-dimensional work, which is infinitely more satisfying.

Who will like this book? Right away one groups this book in the same category as truly great golf books like "Golf my Way" by Nicklaus, and "How I play Golf" by Woods. At the same time, the clarity of tone, character development, story arc, and timeless narrative make it a comfortable bookshelf companion to other modern classics: the sentiment of Faulkner without the pathos; the efficiency of Hemmingway without the inevitable suicides; the wit of Oscar Wilde without the gay, gay, gay. Even the homespun drollness of a Dave Barry or a Carl Haissen is folded in here to make "Foursome Follies" a veritable literary paella of succulent characters and saffron metaphors.

Is Brian Harriss the next Mark Twain? A Connecticut Yankee on a New England Golf Course? It may be too early in Mr. Harriss' writing career to suggest that "Foursome Follies" be required reading for High School seniors or distributed in hotel room drawers (or maybe it's not.....). However, this book definitely deserves a read. As Mark Twain himself once said: "The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who can't read them."

We have been reading the same stories over and over again for three successive children. It is full of plots, great adventure, excitement, many small lessons. Its witty and very sincere characters are so real.. Excellent pictures are another level of enjoyment all by themselves.

The illustrations have a lot of detail. They are beautiful and fun to study. The stories are fun! There is lots of humor. We especially like Willy the hedgehog. He is always so hungry! I am 9 years old and my brother and sister and I love the Foxwood books. We wish they would print them again.

A book that gives you comprehensive ideas on the physical picture of brittle fracture

Though not a giant one, Lawn's piercing thoughts into the essence of brittle fracture can be clearly read and transferred (especiaaly for those who have studied and indulged into fracture like me). From the beginning, Griffith's spirits are extracted from his classic papers and put as a corner stone through out the book. Unlike many other authors, the author apparently appreciates and must have digged deeply into Griffith's paper. The remaining chapters illustrate it in an enlightening way, i.e., the subjects are treated as concepts-faced, not a pile-ups of entangling "dislocations" (facts). At least for me, some concepts had firmly taken their roots in my mind after reading. Not the least, the references given guides one fracturing through the literature and aims at providing some classic papers in the field for further study. They really take effect! I am at least not missed in library.

S.L. Taylor's review of this book was most helpful, however:
1.) Remember, it doesn't necessarily have to be big to satisfy!
2.) Emile Zola's prose was only turgid after he had been
drinking. the rest of the time he didn't say enough to make
any sense to a reader what-so-ever.
3.) Who wants to be associated with Proust anyway? Nobody named
"Marcel" could have written a book like this in the 1st
place.
4.) Christopher Hitchen's talks funny, but I like his hair.

5.) There are worst hobbies than dead postmasters general you
know, like bowling, air guitar, goal tending, & marrying
cops!
I find the book a fascinating addition to the library of obscure FDR related bits of trivia.

There are 5 reasons that no stamp collector who is interested in stamps of the FDR era should be without this book.
1.) It is not as big as A la Recherche du Temps Perdue.
2.) Brian C.Baur's prose is not as turgid as that of Emile Zola.
3.) Much like Proust and Zola nobody knows who Brian C. Baur is either.
4.)Mr. Baur does not use as many big words as Christopher Hitchens.
5.)This book contains important historical information not found anywhere else.(e.g The names of Postmasters who have been dead for more than half a century.)

I've dined at the restaurant many times, and it is consistently good. The cookbook is just as good as the restaurant - especially the Penne Gratin (very rich, very decadent and VERY delicious!)

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys cooking.

You can actually grill a delicious pizza while friends hang out around the barbecue drinking red wine! The soups are delicious as well as the salads, meat entrees and their famous seasoning recipes! A must have for family meals as well as friendly get togethers!

This book suggested the big "what if" someone actually knew and stood by while thousands perished! With all the scandalous behavior in corporate and political America, is it possible for someone to have inside information like this and, worse yet, use it for personal gain at the expense of human life? Makes me wonder!!

shocking provocative view of corporate america. an inside look of what todays ceos represent even through the most critical and trying moment in our history

This is one of my favorite books. On a fall day I love to pull it out onto a table and flip through the pages. The images in the book transport me to an idyllic place along the shores of the beautiful strait that connects Lake Huron to Lake Erie.

It's magical. After I experienced the book, it was impossible to see the Red Wings play Montreal at the Joe and not think of our shared heritage or stare at the RenCen and not imagine the old French fort and strip farms along the shores of the river. If you love Detroit, this is a must have book.

This stunning visual documentation of Detroit's evolution from western outpost to one the largest cities on the American frontier is remarkable for both its scholarship and its detailed graphic content. Lush with color, these pre-photographic images depict in vivid detail both the physical growth of Detroit from its earliest days as a European settlement to its mid-nineteenth emergence as one of the industrial/commercial giants of North America, as well as the passing of its role as a center of Native American life.

Created to commemorate Detroit's Tricentennial, the work's author, Brian Dunnigan, Curator of Maps at the University of Michigan's famed William L. Clements Library, has done the nation and Michigan a great service by gathering into one resource these rare and unique images, many of which heretofore never had been published. A wealth of intricate maps, colorful engravings, architect's renderings, military documents, portraits, watercolors, simple line drawings, and even a bull's horn scrimshaw of ships and buildings from 1765 highlight this remarkable work. In all 287 images can be found within its 256 pages. This volume is a welcome addition to scholarship on the Great Lakes and the Northwest Territories, and documents the crucial role Detroit played in the pre and post-revolutionary development of the United States.

How GE entered the Diesel Locomotive field with little previous experience and raced ahead to beat out EMD and other "Old Timers". Well written with superb photos. Should be in the library of every rail enthusiast.

I was amazed with facts on GE locomotives. I am waiting the author to make a similar book on GM locomotives. On this kind of books all railway enthusiasts are hardly waiting.

I am still reading this book, but could not wait to write a review. Gen E focuses on young entrepreneurs in the 24 to 34 year old category. Since I am in that age range and have just started my first serious business, I have found this book to be quite a motivational tool. It offers sound start-up business advice coupled with real stories from young go-getters such as FUBU designers and the CEOs of CNET and Amazon.com.

Whether you're intersted in starting an online business or a nuclear waste facility, this book has tips, facts and advice, as well as stories from the young and bold from almost every industry that is sure to provide motivation as you build or maintain your business.

This book is the best so far in terms of inspiration and motivation as well as being a complete how-to. Being part of the Gen E, I found this book useful in starting my own business. It is easy to read, very thorough and well written. Great Job Brian!