Bryan Books

The Franconia, New Hampshire, farm of the American poet Robert Frost was turned into a museum and center for poetry and the arts in 1976. From that time, "The Frost Place" has been annual event wherein an emerging poet has been invited to spend the summer living in the house where Frost once lived and wrote some of his greatest poetry. The Breath Of Parted Lips: Voices From The Robert Frost Place, Volume One is a remarkable anthology of twenty-four poets, each of whom won that honor of a summer's residency and document the success of the original concept as a means of generating outstanding poetry while nurturing the poet's muse in the rooms and views that were once the inspiration of the great Robert Frost. Poem At 40: Windwashed--as if standing next to the highway,/a truck long as the century sweeping by,/all things at last bent in the same direction./An opening, as if all/the clothes my ancestors ever wore/dry on lines in my body:/wind-whipped, parallel with the ground,/some sleeves sharing a single clothespin/so that they seem to clasp hands,/seem to hold on.//And now that I can see/up the old women's dresses,/there's nothing but a filtered light./And now that their men's smoky breath/has traversed the earth,/it has nothing to do with them./And now that awkward, fat tears of rain/slap the window screen,/now that I'm naked too,/cupping my genitals, tracing with a pencil/the blue vein between my collar bone and breast,/I'll go to sleep when I'm told.

In Osprey New Vanguard #100 David Fletcher, a historian at the Tank Museum in Bovington (UK), provides an excellent summary of the development and introduction of the first British tanks in the First World War. Fletcher succeeds in assembling a lot of disparate information into a tight package, that outlines the development, training and entry into combat of the British tank force. This Osprey summary is an excellent starting point for academics or professional military readers who wish to study the introduction of a radical new weapon system. Overall, in terms of narrative, freshness of information, and graphic appeal, this volume is excellent.

Fletcher begins the volume with background information on how Winston Churchill's idea for "landships" was translated by two engineering geniuses into the prototype "Lincoln Machine" and "Little Willie." Most readers will be surprised to learn that the original track set was built in Chicago (which doesn't cast the concept of American "neutrality" in a particularly sincere light), although this track was deemed unsuitable for the later prototypes. Fletcher details how the initial requirement for tanks in February 1915, after passing through the "Little Willie" design, resulted in the first tests of the Mark I tank or "Mother" in January 1916; less than a year from concept to working prototype! Considering that aircraft and submarines both existed prior to the First World War and their wartime developments were evolutionary in nature, the development of the British Mark I tank may be one of the most rapid weapons breakthroughs in military history. Fletcher also notes that it was the development of a functional track design that "was the single most important factor in the evolution of the British tank" - not the engine, transmission, armor or weapons.

Fletcher also spends several pages discussing how the Mark I tanks were built - a subject that is rarely discussed in other sources. By the summer of 1916, Fletcher notes that British industry was capable of building about 25 tanks per week, but many were siphoned off for training duties, so few were available for the battles of 1916-1917. One item that Fletcher does not cover is the issue of how much the first tanks cost; again, from the point of view of R&D and weapon development, it would be interesting to see how much the British investment in tanks cost (versus say, development in new heavy artillery or aircraft). Fletcher's section on crew duties is also very interesting, and as a former tanker myself, it is hard not to sympathize with the early tankers who had to operate inside a vehicle filled with "gushing clouds of carbon monoxide" and with temperatures rising to 120º F. Fletcher also includes brief sections on training for war and the initial introduction into combat. Although recently there has been a school of revisionist historians who have challenged the value of the early tanks, Fletcher notes that despite heavy losses and awkward moments the British Mark I tanks did prove their worth. In one engagement, a single British Mark I commanded by a 2LT Storey single-handedly captured a formidable German position and 300 prisoners. Fletcher also discusses the eight Mark I tanks used at Gaza in Palestine in 1917. The final sections cover several variants of the Mark I, included the similar Mark II and Mark III. The photographs and illustrations in the volume are excellent. The color plates include: the Lincoln Machine; Little Willie; Mother; camouflage schemes on Mark Is in 1916; a cutaway of a Mark I Male; a Mark I in Palestine; the Mark II and III variants; and the supply tank and wireless radio tank variants. Unfortunately, the author does not provide a bibliography or notes on sources of photographs.

All told, the British built 150 Mark I tanks, plus 50 each of the Mark II and Mark III variants. Virtually all of these tanks were non-operational by 1918, but these 250 early tanks paved the way for their sturdier successors. While some modern critics have attempted to characterize the early British tanks as too few in number and mechanically unreliable to matter, they tend to ignore the value of these first steps in creating a viable tank corps. Like many early-model weapons, the British Mark I was not itself destined to conquer on the battlefield, but it laid the seeds for its successors to reap at Cambrai in 1917 and Amiens in 1918.

***** This is a terrific collection of poetry with a western flavor. There are eighty-one poems in all.

Some touch upon the wildness and harshness of the wild, such as "Brush Country" and "Hide & Seek" ...

Some touch upon nature, such as "Wild Flowers" and "Rebirth" ...

Quite a few are filled with humor, such as "Midwife" and "Jake" ...

But most of these will make the reader picture the Wild West and the towns of long ago, such as "Simon and Seth" and "Sam". Highly recommended for all fans of poetry, western novels, or historical romance novels. *****

Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.

This book is really great, an excellent work! Its writing is exceptional and very unique, in a way u cant find in modern litterature. A true, original novel, in its content and format. I was reading this again and again, it was just like a big poem!

This songbook contains the words and music to the following 20 songs:
1. Virginia Plain
2. A Hard Rain's Gonna Fall
3. Pyjamarama
4. Do The Strand
5. These Foolish Things
6. Street Life
7. Let's Stick Together
8. Smoke Gets in Your Eyes
9. Love is the Drug
10. Sign of the Times
11. Dance Away
12. Angel Eyes
13. Oh Yeah
14. Over You
15. Same Old Scene
16. In the Midnight Hour
17. More Than This
18. Avalon
19. Slave to Love
20. Jealous Guy

Bryan White is THE BEST book I've read, when I start reading it I can't put it down. Him being my FAVORITE country star.
I just can't tell you enough about it. It is a really cool book you will just have to read it yourself to find out what I mean.
That is if your in to Bryan White.

review by: Sarah Hale

I quite often read an "Edit Book".By that I mean a book that is not written by a author,but a book which is a collection of stuff that someone gathers together,edits it,then gets it published.At times the editor puts a lot into it,but more often acts as an assembler only.In fact they often seem like they have been assembled by a bunch of staff "researchers" and without any object except to produce a certain number of pages.The first book I wrote an Amazon review was such a book by the same editor.I wrote the review on August 11,2003,gave it only 1 Star,and remain the one and only reviewer.When I started to read this book,I noted that there had been no reviews to date,even though it was published in 2002.Halfway through,I realized it was by the same editor.
Surprisingly,I really liked this book.In a similar way,there could have been any number of quotes chosen;but the Presidents were all included and in order.In that way it is quite a historical endeavor.
A couple of things come out in this book.
First,and for obvious reasons,a book like this shows that the guiding principles of the Presidents have never wavered,despite their personalities or the issues and things they faced.I can't imagine that would be popssible with any other country.
Secondly,the US was a country formed by the people and for the people,a Republic with 3 branches of government.This results in the President being the President of all the people;instead of the leader of a political party.This contrasts with every other country,including mine,Canada.The US gains immensely from this.
Thirdly,as you read the quotes from each president,you will see the same principles emerge;Liberty,Freedom,Equality,Desire for Peace,Willingness to help others,Desire to improve,No desire to dominate others,Government role is to serve the people rather than for the people to serve the government.
I think it is too bad that there were not comments included on the dust jacket by others.Instead, the easy way out was taken and lines from the Presidents were used.

I've used other sociology dictionaries - even bought the Blackwell Dictionary of Sociology and while that one is helpful, the Cambridge Dictionary of Sociology is more thorough and easier to read and find entries. No dictionary is going to have absolutely everything you need - such is the joy of being able to buy multiple books! But for any serious sociology student or those who have an interest, the Cambridge Dictionary of Sociology is a must have for your bookshelf.

This is the book that opened my eyes to communicating emotion and meaning through photographs. Once you understand how to look for the meaning of other people's pictures, you can begin to probe deeper with your own images

This book looks at the divisions within three mainline Protestant churches in the 1970s: the separation of conservatives from the Presbyterian Church in the United States (or Southern Presbyterian Church) to form the Presbyterian Church in America, the separation of liberals from the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod, and the separation of traditionalists from the Episcopal Church. As the author of the first history of the Presbyterian Church in America (which I am currently updating), I can testify as to the professional treatment which Bryan Hillis gives to the topic. I highly recommend the book.