Bryan Books

My little boy is almost 2, and I read him this book this afternoon at nap time. He was so into it, he laid his little head on my chest and looked up at me everytime I said "I love you" (which is a lot in these stories!). I definitely recommend, this would make a great baby shower gift too!

This is a fantastic collection of I love you books for ages 0-5. My son is 4 1/2 and since getting this book last week he has had me read a few of the stories every night and can't wait until morning to tell me he loves me in different ways like in the books.

Very sweet and a great way to spend one on one time with your kids.

Not only does this book give you a variety of African-American poets,it also supplies you with a brief background of each author. This gives you some of the ingredients it took to make each poem. There are thirty-six poems total. Of the twenty-five poets, Clinton,(author), selects more than one piece from some of them. For those who only know of a few poets, this book allows you to learn about others.
The illustrator (Stephen Alcorn)Uses lots of color to express the feelings of the poem. These are the type of pictures that you must look at with a keen eye. A lot of symbolism is used in his drawings. You can get a general idea of the poem by looking at the pictures. To check this book out would be an injustice. this is a must buy book. Everyones library should consist of this poetic history.

This is an excellent poetry book with a diverse group of African American poets. The artwork also inspires discussion. I use this book as part of my homeschooling lessons on poetry. Many thought provoking poems to enjoy and ponder.

For children whose parents steeped them in the Beatles as mine did, this book of swimming, beautiful collages about the life of John Lennon is a wonderful treat. The story is essentially a highlight of the good and the not-so-good parts of John's life and the many poingant, moving, and splendedly beautiful things he had to say. It deals with the sadness of John's abandonment by his mother ("Mother, you had me, I never had you"), the jubilation of creating a rock'n'roll phemonenon that shook the world and his wild sense of the absurd (Goo Goo Ga'Joob!). The book is punctuated by lyrics from many Beatles songs and is, basically, very moving. Although a few aspects of John's life mentioned in the book, divorcing his wife to marry Yoko Ono for example, may take a bit of explaination for younger children they are certainly important parts of John's life. The message of the book is John's constant message to the world: "Yes" is the answer and Love is all you need.

...and the world will live as one.

These inspirational words from John Lennon from his 1971 mega hit, "Imagine" beautifully underscore this book. The gentle illustrations of John as a young boy to the man he became are sure to delight all ages. This is a wonderful way to introduce children to the Chief Beatle, the man who founded the World's Number One Band as well as to see what influences helped John create the poignant lyrics that he did. John's sad classic, "Mother" was about how his natural mother Julia turned him over to her older sister and brother-in-law to raise; "Imagine" was the vision that John had for a peaceful world where we all live as one.

Please read this book and share it with somebody. It is not only a deeply moving book, it is one that will resonate in the heart and mind as well.

I'm a huge literature fan but have had a hard time finding catholic literature. This book did not disappoint. Being married is difficult enough without having the graces from the sacraments to strengthen you. This book will help you see the humble sacrifices of marriage and how to become a saint in your vocation as husband and wife.

Fr. Bryan Houghton wrote three books (that I know of), all of which have to do with one topic but different aspects of the same: the changes in the Church since Vatican II and how they affected religious and lay people. He is a convincing and clear writer and very solid in his theology. He also has the ability to weave his knowledge into good story telling and therefore make his arguments easier to understand and palatable to all audiences.

Judith's Marriage deals with the effects of these changes in the sacred institution of marriage in this beautifully written novel. Fr. Houghton in his own autobiography (Pretre Rejeté) describes himself as one of the lone voices in the Church to focus on and defend the rights of the lay faithful vis a vis the bishops and priests. His context is the storm of changes that took place since Vatican II in the Catholic Church. His passionate defense of the lay person in this book comes out of the mouth of the main character Judith, a noble English woman from an old Anglican family who converts to Catholicism right before the Second Vatican Council. She is attracted by the beauty of the Catholic liturgy and Faith and above all the beauty of the Mass. She marries the heir of an old noble English Catholic family who takes such beauty for granted and therefore is caught unaware when the changes come. Judith converts only to see all the beauty and reasons for conversion taken away by bishops who want to "modernize" the unmodernizable. The crisis that ensues in the Church, specially compounded by the issue of birth control, affects her marriage in every way and she finds herself fighting with the keen sight of a recent convert to protect her Faith from the mistakes and errors that she saw in the church she left behind. Ironically, she finds her ability to fight where her husband does not in her recent conversion. She had to come to the Faith emotionally and intelectually, whereas her husband was simply born to it and never had to fight for it.

Fr. Houghton's point is that the liturgy does not belong to the bishops or priests but to the faithful, who have a right to the best liturgy the Church can give them and therefore what happened should have never, in all justice, have happened. Those who caused it, in his view, have still to come to grips with the effects of their ill timed optimism andd acknowledge the crisis.

This book illustrates poignantly the unforeseen effects on the sacred insitution of marriage when the support of good liturgy is taken away. As a married Catholic with a family in these modern times I can vouch for the truth of Fr. Houghton's arguments. I have felt the same struggles and pressures "to conform". This book touched me. I think it will touch anyone looking for an answer to the question of modernity and why, in spite of all its advantages, it has not really satisfied the innermost part of us.

"Jump Back, Honey: The Poems of Paul Laurence Dunbar" combines several poems from this beloved African-American poet with illustrations from several different artists: Ashley Bryan, Faith Ringgold, and more. Dunbar (1872-1906) was an expert at writing poems in both a formal "literary" English and in a style that evoked African-American vernacular speech (this second type of poem was known as a "dialect" poem). This book includes excellent examples of both modes. A sample from a "dialect" poem: "Fiddlin' man jes' stop his fiddlin', / Lay his fiddle on de she'f."

I liked how several different visual artists contributed to this book; this gives the book a nice sense of variety. My favorite illustrations include Jerry Pinkney's pictures, which are vibrant with color and energy, and Carole Byard's delicate picture that accompanies "The Sparrow."

These are poems about nature, African-American culture, and the joys of love and family life. This book is an excellent choice for a multicultural children's book collection.

A versatile group of illustrators add flair to Paul Laurence Dunbar's poetry. Faith Ringgold's portrait of Frederick Douglass gives additional power to "Douglass". Jerry Pinkney's illustrations capture the playfulness and sass of "A Negro Love Song"; and "The Colored Band". Both Carole Byard's and Jan Spivey Gilchrist's illustrations add contemporary color and meaning to this anthology. The notes list brief biographical information on Dunbar and some background data on the title of this book. Some facts about the illustrators are also included in this collection of poems. This book can be used for school and church performances and plays.

I, too, have passed copies of this slim book to numerous friends. It was first handed to me by a friend who virtually locked me into a room with orders not to come out until I had read it. I did so, and have re-read it several times since, always to my advantage.

Magee serves Popper well, and one effect has been to encourage me to read several of Popper's own books, also highly recommended.

But most importantly, I have found several of Popper's ideas extremely valuable, notably his views on how science is "done" (that is, the value of theories being proven wrong, which has helped me in my own work in a highly technical field), and his views (in "The Open Society and its Enemies") on the need for dissent if a society is to be able to adapt and grow (which is inherent in Popper's view on science). Magee's book is a brilliant introduction to these ideas.

Very highly recommended, easy to assimilate, stimulating - and not even a long read!

Sir Karl Raimund Popper led a remarkable life, although from most accounts it didn't do much to lend him a sense of humility or good grace. That's as it may be, but it doesn't detract from his tremendous, thought largely forgotten, contributions to Western thought in the last sixty years.

In a country and time where academic discourse is dominated by high-flown and jargonistic theories, Popper's legacy is one that needs to be remembered (in fact, I've loaned this book to several people, and they've all told me that they hadn't realized just how influential his ideas have been). His approach is in the tradition of European liberalism-- Popper was an implacable foe of totalitarianism, mysticism, and absolutism of any sort. As the political left comes more and more to resemble the political right in terms of argumentation and language, it is genuinely refreshing to find that just a short time ago one of the most highly regarded scientist/philosophers of the modern age dedicated his life to fighting for intellectual honesty, academic rigor, and a better life for all of mankind.

Bryan Magee is an engaging philosopher and writer in his own right (this as well as his other books are genuinely fun to read), and does a brilliant job of presenting an accessible and comprehensive overview of Popper's major tenets. From the Open Society to World Three to Scientific Logic, all of Popper's major contributions to the humanities are represented here, and all are eloquently explained-- with extensive use of quotes from Popper's own writings.

The fact that one of the most highly-regarded 20th century philosophers is now virtually unknown-- in spite of the fact that he spent decades fighting against Nazism, fascism, and racism-- is a sad indicator of the strange turns that academic humanist thought has taken in the last couple of decades. At under 150 pages, this is a quick read. But the ideas are timeless, and contain many ideas curiously missing from much of present-day discourse-- from explaining the ways in which each of us view the world in which we live to suggesting ways in which we do our part to provide a better existence for our fellow humans.

I used to hunt a long time ago, but have since grown distant from any need to kill for sport ... so, I was initially rather hesitant about this purchase ... I've had the book for about a week now, gone through it from cover to cover, and must say the hunting element still disturbs me somewhat ... but the subject has been treated in the best possible manner ...

The book is well laid out, with quality paper and colour separation ... the photography is very good, the backdrops & landscapes breath taking ... the dogs themselves are shown at their best ... sharing quiet moments with their human partners ... running, playing and working in water ... and doing that which they excel ... retrieving. A wonderful book for all who love Labradors ... and can keep an open mind about hunting ...

There are alot of labrador picture books, but this is one of the best I've seen. Not only is the photography technically suburb, but the unique ways in which these dogs are portrayed shows you how much Byran loves labs and how much time he spends around them. Mr. Bryan postulates in the intro that people who don't hunt can't really appreciate their lab's full potential. I don't hunt, so our lab is a family dog. But this book allowed me to understand what she's capable of and to appreciate her already fine qualities even more.

The book splains every type of LST's used between 1942 and 2002 with colour arts and full schemes, a good reference for modelers and historians.

The Landing Ship, Tank was a war-winning weapon. Nazi Germany didn't have anything like it and had to seize a port or make do with a barge. Against light resistance, this worked. It wouldn't work against prepared defenses such as the German Atlantic Wall or the determined Imperial Japanese fortified islands from 1943 on.

This Osprey New Vanguard book continues a tradition of excellence. The LST was a British invention, but American industry made it a practical reality. The LST was designed to land heavy equipment over the beach--especially the tank. Prior to the development of specialty landing boats, amphibious assault was conducted with ships' boats, a method that permitted only light weapons deployment. When outside the range of naval gunfire (more importantly, when outside the limited range of communications with the mother vessels) the amphibious soldier was little more than an irritation. Specialty landing craft, both boats and amphibious tractors, permitted landing infantry combat teams with heavy equipment en mass, as coherent units of battalion size or larger. By contrast, parachute infantry had little more than man-portable weaponry and no significant motorized transport (a few air-dropped motorcycles, perhaps), which forced the use of gliders. Even gliders had severe weight restrictions--light airborne "tanks" had virtually no combat utility. Airborne assaults were dependant upon linking up with more heavily-equipped ground troops. An exception was the near disaster of Crete by the German Luftwaffe. The Dieppe Raid proved the need for masses of heavy gear if an independant amphibious assault was to succeed. There was a problem with the little landing craft--they lacked seaworthyness and had to be launched near the objective and loaded up from the mother transport. What the LST accomplished was direct transfer from a friendly port thousands of miles from the objective to the hostile beachhead of the heaviest equipment. Without the LST or something like it, neither Normandy nor the Pacific Islands campaign would have been practical.

The first part of this book covers the history and development quite well. The color plates provide a cross-sectional view as well as paintings of varients such as the mini "aircraft carrier." The latter was capable of launching and recovering modified Army liaison aircraft--in the pre-helicopter days, quite a feat! This was the first I've heard of the Brodie carriers.

Operational history and varients during the 60-year service life of this class of vessels is detailed in the rest of this thin volume. I was surprised to find out that this class of ship is no longer part of the US Navy--I'll have to check because the mission, delivering large quantities of equipment over an unimproved beach, still exists. Today, the improved LSD, LPD, and LHA all feature an internal, floodable dock that can handle large hovercraft or the big LCM, load them safely under all sea conditions, and launch them--so perhaps the LST's day is over. I don't know, but I'm going to find out! The US Marines still can put more combat power ashore than the Army Airborne in the same time (the Airborne can get there quicker, but can't muster much staying power until reinforced by the inadequate air transport fleet), but Marine Corps doctrine has changed from the World War Two frontal assault on a fortified beach to a more subtle "hit them where they ain't" maneuver warfare doctrine proven in Grenada and in the phantom "amphibious assault" on Kuwait during the First Gulf War. Take a look at the complex amphibious operations during the Second Gulf War--too intricate to more than hint at in this format.

The LST was never a perfect solution, merely a workable one. These sturdy work horses were converted to other tasks, and some soldier on in foreign navies. In September, 1979, I made an amphibious assault with Company F, 29th Marines (a reserve unit) from a Norwegian LST somehwere north of the Artic Circle. Now thanks to Osprey, I have pictures of this sea-going workhorse.

Forget e-mail! Get a pen and buy some stamps! This beautifully designed postcard box is an object to treasure in itself and the amazing cards inside will inspire you to take pen in hand and rediscover the art of correspondence. Perfect to send to your friends while you're jetsetting around the globe. On the other hand, the cards are so cool you may want to keep them all to yourself so buy two!

I recently bought my own Airstream, and a friend bought this box set for me. I now have several of my favorites up by my desk at work, so that I can daydream traveling the world in it.

The box contains classic photographs from primarily the 1950's and 1960's. Several black and white photos, as well as color ones. The variety of photos and locations on the postcards are very conducive to travel daydreams!

If you have ever owned an Airstream, or have just admired them from afar, this little box of postcards is really a great buy. I plan on keeping the whole box for myself, but maybe I'll buy another box to send to friends while travelling in mine.

I purchased The Lord of The Rings, That Battle For Middle-earth PC and the Prima Official Game Guide this week. The game is everything I had hoped it would be: Challenging, Beautiful, Epic, and just plain fun. If you are huge Real Time Strategy (RTS) fan, the game may not strike a tune with you. Why? The game mechanics are pretty much what you'd expect from any Warcraft inspired RTS: Build Base, Harvest Resources, Build Units, Invade...wash and repeat. But, if you are a Lord of the Rings fan, like I am, you'll love the cinematic battles, dazzling special effects, and "just one more battle" late night gaming sessions!

That being said, the Prima Game Guide is equally impressive. Though not as thick and heavy as the Prima Guide for the Sims2, the Battle For Middle-earth Game Guide is still suprising well done. Each page is in full color, printed on glossy paper, and full of insider tips, unit details, and battle walk-throughs. A fold out map of Middle-earth, also in full color printed on card-stock paper, is included, but, sadly, the map is only sparsely labled and pretty generic. This Prima Game Guide trumps the last one I purchased, the Rome Total War Prima Game Guide, which was printed on cheap paper and entirely in black and white.

In conclusion, I strongly recommend both The Battle For Middle-earth, the PC game, and the Prima Game Guide. Enjoy!

I bought the Battle for Middle Earth without ever having played in RTS games in my life. So, even though I thoroughly enjoyed the game, I had a hard time trying to figure out what was more important to be doing. This guide helped me out tremendously as far as knowing what to build and when, and explaining Powers and Evenstar Powers better, and many other things that I didn't quite understand in the game. It has tons a great pictures and lots of helpful hints and gives you a VERY THOROUGH explanation of all the game elements - which was great to read because I found the manual that came with the game to be very vague and lacking in detail.

Sure, there are walk-throughs with strategies and maps of all the 30-some places you fight your way through, but I haven't looked at those just yet - I like to try and figure things out for myself, but it's nice to know if I keep having trouble, I can go to it.

One thing I love about this book is that it doesn't take away from the thrill of the game by telling you everything you need to do; it just offers strategy suggestions. So, you can read this entire book and know that you haven't been given a complete walk-thru to spoil your fun.

So, if you have found the manual to the game to be very confusing and lacking in detail explaining things and you have never played a RTS (Real-Time Strategy) game before, this is definitely your book and you will not be disappointed.