Burns Books

The research and flow of the book is good, but there's too much quotation from the primary sources. It's great to see the perspective of the regiment's men, but the use is excessive. This has a tendency to make the book a bit tedious at times. More analysis from the author would have been helpful. Nontheless, a noble effort to tell an important story.

Devotion to history isn't as strong in the Upper Midwest as in the Old South. Perhaps oblivion is nobler and less risky than living out a myth, but there are few if any "re-enactors" among my Swedish kinfolk in the Land of Lakes. Of course, the earliest settlers in my clan came to Minnesota in 1872. The Minnesota First Volunteer Regiment, nevertheless, has a good claim on being the most heroic single regiment on either side in the whole war, and Mr Moe documents the history of their heroism most eloquently.
Another review complains that Moe use too many quotes, to much primary source material. I totally disagree. The use of letters, journals, and bits from local newspapers is the strength of this book, the part that carries both conviction and immediacy. Comparison to the Ken Burns TV documentary is apt, and I feel that this book, The Last Full Measure, is stronger both in impact and in scholarship.
We're modest, diffident people, we Minnesotans. You won't find many statues of soldiers in our town squares. Truth is, we don't have so many town squares to show them off in. Kids plow through elementary school in Minnesota thinking of the Civil War as a faraway conflict hardly more intimate to us than the Boer War. I remember being surprised, in college, to learn that there'd been a Souix War in my birth-county, in the 1860s. History was what happened in other places. I wonder... Is our blissful ignorance a handicap or the source of our comparatively lawful and peaceful community? Our grudges stay at home.
Anyhow, as we say in Freeborn County, this here tale of young men fighting for what they care about makes pretty good reading.

For Minnesota's Sesquicentennial on March 11, 2008, the Minnesota History Center created the acclaimed MN150 exhibit of 150 people, places and things that shaped Minnesota, chosen from over 2,700 citizen nominations received over several months. They put much time and money into developing the exhibit. It opened at the History Center in October of 2007 and will be open for probably five years. (Check out the MN150 website for more interesting reading.)

I nominated the First Minnesota Volunteer Infantry Regiment with a brief essay I wrote, inspired by reading the Pulitzer Prize-winning Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era (Oxford History of the United States) by James McPherson and my own casual research as a history buff. (I did not yet know about this excellent book.) My nomination won, and the First Minnesota is included in the exhibit of 150 most important people, places and things in Minnesota history. Their story is amazing.

A brief essay cannot do justice to the First Minnesota, because their accomplishments span several years, but here is my winning essay:

The First Minnesota Volunteer Infantry Regiment was the first in the nation to answer President Abraham Lincoln's call for troops in 1861, and they courageously served with great distinction. The 262 men of the First Minnesota played a heroic but tragic role at the Battle of Gettysburg. In his Pulitzer Prize-winning Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era, James McPherson wrote, "The 20th Maine and the 1st Minnesota achieved lasting fame by throwing back Confederate attacks that came dangerously close to breakthroughs. . . . The Minnesotans did the job, but only 47 of them came back."

The day was July 2, 1863. More than 160,000 Union (North against slavery) and Confederate (South favoring slavery) soldiers converged at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Confederate forces had achieved a series of victories and may have advanced to Washington, D.C., if they won this battle.

The men of the First Minnesota were positioned near Union artillery batteries on Cemetery Ridge. "We began to hear musketry which soon became one continuous roar. . . . Then shells fell uncomfortably near us," wrote Sergeant Alfred Carpenter in a letter on file with the Minnesota Historical Society. Then disaster struck.

Confederate Rebels infiltrated the Union line. "The Rebs came in two splendid lines, firing as they advanced, capturing one of our batteries, which they turned against us, and gained the cover of the ravine," Carpenter wrote. "The plain was strewed with dead and dying men."

Union general Winfield Scott Hancock desperately ordered the 262 men of the First Minnesota to charge the 1,600 advancing Alabama Rebels. Carpenter recalled, "We advanced down the slope. . . . Comrade after comrade dropped from the ranks; but the line went. No one took a second look at his fallen companion. We had no time to weep."

The next day, 15,000 Confederates charged Cemetery Ridge--the legendary Pickett's Charge--but were repelled by a devastating artillery barrage. Because the Minnesotans had saved the artillery the day before, the Rebels were repelled--but at a great sacrifice. 82 percent of the First Minnesota men were killed or wounded at Gettysburg--the highest casualty rate of the war.

On July 4, Lieutenant William Lochren wrote a letter to his hometown Winona Republican newspaper. "We are in the midst of a terrible battle," he wrote. "Two thirds of the regiment are killed or wounded. We got the better of the enemy in the fight, and our regiment captured one stand of colors."

The Union and Confederacy suffered 45,000 casualties at Gettysburg. Over 620,000 soldiers died in the Civil War. On November 19, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln honored the great sacrifices made and gave meaning to the war in his Gettysburg Address:

"Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. . . . From these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion; that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain; that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom. . . ."

And so we did. Some historians call the Civil War "the Second American Revolution." Following the Union victory, the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments were ratified, transforming the Constitution and America.

The importance that Minnesotans attributed to the Civil War can be seen in the numerous great paintings of the Civil War at the Minnesota State Capitol, including Rufus F. Zogbaum's Battle of Gettysburg. The Civil War deeply shaped the new state of Minnesota, and the First Minnesota Volunteer Infantry Regiment played a pivotal role.

While the gallant charge of the 1st Minnesota on July 2, which saved the Union cause was well known to me, the rest of the illustrious history of the first volunteer Union regiment, from First Manassas to The Wilderness, was not.
To read the homely accounts of these citizen soldiers helps you to understand how the Army of the Potomac, despite a succession of inept commanders, ultimately prevailed.
A must for serious Civil War buffs.

Few Union Civil War regiments did more for the Union cause then the First Minnesota. The case could even be made, on a man by man basis, that the sacrifices these men made, culminating in the enormous losses the regiment suffered at Gettysburg, exceeded that of any other unit on the Union side. Yet for many years this gallant regiment was relatively unknown, at least until this excellent regimental history was published. Minnesota native Richard Moe does justice to this great unit by portraying the men just as they were--brave, stalwart, yet human underneath it all. The tenacity these men showed in battle is evident from the first time they saw real combat against the Stonewall brigade at First Manasses, and is demonstrated over and over throughout Moe's work.

One of the great challenges in writing combat history lies in doing justice to the battle narrative without coming across as over-dramatic in the telling. Moe does an excellent job of relating the combat experiences of the First Minnesota, with his telling of the First's participation in the battle of Gettysburg being very moving and some of the best combat narrative I believe I've ever read. In those few pages alone Moe accomplishes his objective--to make the reader appreciate the part these great men played in the war--and even without the rest of the book I believe his point would be made.

This is a regimental history, of course, so the focus is on the First Minnesota rather than the actions of the Army of the Potomac in general. There are parts of the narrative, such as when the regiment is guarding Harper's Ferry, when relatively little happens, yet such is the nature of a unit history such as this one. I think a full appreciation of this book requires some knowledge of the first three years of the Civil War, but Moe provides enough detail that one could probably get a general idea of what was going on elsewhere in the war even without it.

Fun and an easy read. Will look for others in this series. Airplane and train book.

I loved this one. I ran across it from a friend and got the other two last summer. I had no idea what a Krispy Kreme doughnut was and now I make 2 hour drives to Vegas to get two dozen... If you do this also, just bring home and put in micro for 6 seconds and then, go to heaven...pick up the book and eat.

Casey is sassy, entertaining, and real. I love mysteries and this was one of my favorite. It is an easy read and great for a weekend quick pick me up. Good job, Katy. Keep em coming.

Munger is a five-star writer, but this story that revolves around tobacco is one I couldn't get into for the subject matter. It also involves a poor little rich girl, which is a plotline that's never appealed to me, not when the girl's old enough to change her own life.

But the plot is a solid one, the characters varied and real and mean when they need to be. Casey Jones is a great lead character. I worry about her drinking (and driving) and eating habits. 170 pounds of muscle? Tell that one to the guy behind the Krispy Kreme counter, Case. And she's got a fascinating romantic lead in this volume. (So glad to see he stuck around for at least one more book!)

Of the four Munger books I've read so far, this is the only one that really didn't grab and hold me until I couldn't put it down... but I still give it four stars for tension and style.

This is the 3rd book in the series.Casey is the best PI character in the mystery genre and is an great character to read. She get's in over her head, loves what she does and meets the men who love her for her.

I've read all of Munger's books except her most recent, and every one of them makes me laugh out loud as I'm reading. I write business and technical material for a living, so when I read for enjoyment I prefer fiction, and mysteries are my favorite. I read (and enjoy) my share of Kellerman, Sandford, Pearson, Harris, etc. AND Munger! I disagree with anyone who says she doesn't develop her characters. I definitely feel as though I've gotten to know Casey Jones and I look forward to each new adventure. Casey is an overweight, overbearing female private eye whose thoughts and actions are not what you'd expect if you're used to following the males of the mystery genre...and they shouldn't be! Munger's stereotypes of southerners are surpassed only by her own stereotypes of northerners, and from what I've read of the author, who should know these stereotypes better than someone who was born in the south but spent considerable time in the north. It's true, I pick up Munger's books when I want a "lighter" mystery to read, and "Money to Burn" was just the ticket. When I finished it, I was already looking forward to her next book.

So far, after 3 years of working out, I've found that even though these books make everything sound logical and pretend it is so easy and works, they really don't. Some people just can't improve their bodies very much regardless of their workouts.

A few things I like about this book though are: the split. It suggests a push, pull, legs/abs split along with cardio. I haven't found a more convenient split. BUT, don't think this split will work wonders and make you gain muscle and better than any other because it won't.

I did the lean body promise to a tee for 2 years, and frankly it doesn't work much if any better than just working out any old way.

Frankly, the big wonderful eating many times a day everyone pretends is a god's gift to bodybuilding hasn't helped me one bit. In fact, I'd almost go so far to say that I had better gains back when I ate 2 maybe 3 meals a day than now, (which is always 4 or more).

This book is pretty good though.

This book is designed to be carried in your GYM bag. The size of this book is not bigger than your palm and it has a summary of the original book.
So if you have a previous experience at the GYM and you target to loose weight and get lean in 12 weeks I advice you with this edition, but if you are a biggner and want to loose weight I advice that you buy the original book and buy the 'GYM EDITION' if you want it to be as a reminder for the exercises that you forget.

I am in no way trying to be a body builder or to be extremely cut or ripped but I wanted practical excercises that would help me tone/build muscle. I believe this book is ideal. While the excercises are not difficult they are a little on the challenging side especially if you are a sedentary beginner. Therefore, I suggest starting off with lighter weights and then as your strength and endurance grows increase the weights.

I just got this book in August but since I added weight training to my routine I am seeing more results. In his book Lee suggests cardio once a week. I do a cardio routine for 20 to 30 minutes after after weight training because while I'm trying to tone/build I want to loose fat and cardio is another important method of fat loss. So that's what I do for myself


I also like the nutritional tips and suggestions provided. However, I have a much better book on the nutrition that I got from Amazon for $11. If excercise and nutrition is important to you then this book and Dr. Jamie McManus' Guide to Wellness book should be in your library.

Everyone is a little different and some of these things won't work the same for everyone but ultimately you will see results. Buy the book. It's worth it.

Lee Labrada's book has really helped me change my body for the better. It gives great advice on nutrition and exercise.

We've all heard the saying that if you commit to doing something long enough, then it will very quickly become a habit and a regular part of your routine. And that is the secret behind former Mr. Universe Lee Labrada's book entitled The Lean Body Promise: Burn Away Fat and Release the Leaner, Stronger Body Inside You.

I think I love this guy (in a brotherly kind of way, of course!) because he just makes sense. And he should know what he's talking about since he has appeared on magazine covers, on television shows, and headed up an anti-obesity campaign in Houston, Texas. As a world-class bodybuilder, Labrada has seen all the good and the bad when it comes to health and he shares it in this engaging book.

With a natural wit and ability to connect with his reader, Labrada goes through step-by-step what YOU need to do to overcome the mental obstacles that stand in the way of your eventual success, provides examples of people who have been successful to serve as inspiration for your new journey, arm you with ample motivation for getting the job done, providing specifics about the kind of diet you should be eating to attain optimal results, and, of course, give you specific direction about how to workout your body to look and feel better than you ever imagined.

Sounds awesome, doesn't it? But aren't books like The Lean Body Promise just a bunch of marketing hype from people who have never had to deal with being overweight and out of shape? While that's probably true about many such programs, you can sense Labrada takes a personal interest in seeing real success from average everyday people like you and me. I think he really does care about YOUR success and will celebrate with you once you reach your goals.

The chapters in this book zoom by quickly thanks to Labrada's unique conversational style and the very clean formatting. Of course, it doesn't hurt to have his smiling picture looking at you from time to time to encourage you to implement his strategies into your life to change it for the better. It's like he's watching you as your own personal weight and fitness coach!

Easy-to-digest sections in each chapter are followed up by "The Skinny So Far..." to recap the primary points Labrada wanted you to remember. This is an extremely helpful way to reinforce the lessons you have learned so that you'll be well on your way to having that "lean body" he promises in just three months! YOU CAN DO IT!

As someone who has lost nearly 200 pounds on the low-carb lifestyle, I did have a few concerns about Labrada's views about diet in The Lean Body Promise. It wasn't all bad, especially his disdain for sugar and simple carbs, processed foods, trans fats, junk foods, and even those packaged low-fat foods. We totally agree that these are NOT good for you no matter how you slice it.

Where we part company is on the subjects of saturated fat and complex carbs.

Tons of research has come out and will be coming out very soon (remember the names Dr. Jeff Volek and Dr. Stephen Phinney) showing the minimized impact of saturated fat on the body when carbohydrate-restriction is in place. On a low-carb diet, such as Dr. Atkins New Diet Revolution (the one I followed), consumption of red meat, egg yolks, bacon, butter, and the like are all extremely healthy for you because the atherogenic impact is minimized.

Actually, what Volek and Phinney have found is those who eat a high-carb diet that is lower in saturated fat content actually have more saturated fat in their blood than those who eat a low-carb diet that is higher in saturated fat content. This is a revolutionary new discovery that's gonna turn everything we've ever known about fat and heart health on its head. It's something the late great Dr. Robert C. Atkins talked about frequently and now the science is catching up to him.

As for the subject of complex carbohydrates, Labrada claims these are not as bad for you as simple carbs because they take more time to be digested and broken down which slows their impact on your blood sugar. While that's true, these carbs are still metabolized in the body as sugar. Even the supposedly "healthy" whole grain foods like oatmeal, brown rice, beans, corn, rice cakes, peas, and whole-grain breads and pastas should be avoided as much as possible to limit insulin spikes.

Despite our differences on these issues, I am still glad to know there are people like Lee Labrada out there trumpeting the cause of improving health and helping people realize they CAN change their diet for the better. The Lean Body Promise is an excellent resource for anyone who wants to learn more about how to whip their body into shape, shed the pounds, burn the body fat, and get healthier than they've ever been in their entire life.

That's a promise this former Mr. Universe says you can take to the bank!

An exciting and imaginative tale of a daring crime by the most unlikely of criminals, a federal district court judge and an interesting cast of accomplices. Fast-paced. Well written. Dialogue is natural, descriptions very readable.

But perhaps one of the most interesting facets of the book, at least to those of us that are lawyers, especially lawyers who try cases in front of this district-court-judge/author, James Zagel, is the insight it gives into the workings of the judicial mind.

I thought the first half of this book was building up quite well.
There was good character development and decent depth to make it a non-linear story.
But for me, once the heist was perpetrated it started to read like a screenplay for an so-so movie (eg see Sneakers for a similar break-in/heist premise). The storyline became too contrite for my liking (ie almost every prescient move of the criminals resolved to some masterstroke).
I liked the court cases that the judge presided over, some of them got me intrigued about the author's moral judgements.(no pun intended ;-P)
Still, if this was a movie I would go see it. As a book I expected more (especially for a debut effort).
Overall I would say I am marginally satisfied but I won't be seeking any future books from this author.

As a former prosecutor, I enjoyed this book. A nice set-up, characters we are ambivalent about (good people don't rob Federal Reserve banks, do they?), a lot of tension, and one or two surprises. The book is satisfactorily written, but I did feel I was reading a particularly well thought-out back story for a screen play. By the end of the book, I was itching to cast the Hollywood stars to play this story on the big screen. I don't see why a movie based on Zagel's book shouldn't give John Grisham a run for his money. And if money to make the film is no object, my choices are: Paulie Devine: Jeff Bridges. Dave: Kurt Russell. Charity: Angela Bassett. Trimble: Brad Pitt. Plymouth: Andy Garcia. Prindiville: James Rebhorn. Corman: Brian Dennehy. Ellen: Patricia Clarkson.

Who among us hasn't been angry at the system? Or wondered what it would be like to pull off the perfect crime? Luckily for you, you can read about a very believable guy whose daydream turned into reality.

Since we all love living vicariously, put on your seatbelt and prepare for some fun. Here's a very respected guy, a Federal judge no less, who is ready to buck the system. With his intellect and connections, he learns everything he needs to know to rob the Federal Reserve. The trick, though, is to make them think they haven't been robbed. It's such an intriguing plot that I couldn't put the book down. What made it even better was knowing that this little work of "fiction" was actually written by a Federal Judge! Hmmmm.... wonder what he was thinking of when he was hearing cases all day.

Ever since reading this book, I'm a little more alert every time I walk into my bank. I dream of the greenbacks in the vault and wonder what it would be like to have a few stacks of my own. Maybe it's not possible, but it's sure nice to dream. After all, if James Zagel's guy can pull off a heist, why can't I?

I have to say that this is probably in the top 5 or 10 books of all time favorites that i have red.I definitely hope this author puts more books out especially if they are as good as this.

Lookout john grisham this book wrote by James Zagel who is a U.S. district court judge.The story about a sitting judge the honorable Paul Devine who dreams up a wild plan to rob the federal reserve in chicago of 100 million dollars by using his life long friend Dave Brody who is a heroic firefighter and paramedic who also happens to be a arsonist for hire for special jobs, Charity Scott who is a sergeant of the guards at the reserve and Charity's husband Trimble Young who happens to be a maintenance electrician.The judge is instigating this not only for the money but a bit of payback against the head of the reserve Redding Prindiville who had a previous case before the judge where he basically cheated a little old lady and the damage Redding caused the judge's wive in furthering her career.

Like i said before hollywood should make a movie of this there are many deffirent turns in this story its definitely fastpaced and a great read

Not only is the book a great source of inspiration, Von gives you the tools to make it work for yourself. The files included on DVD are nice and big and there are sample files included so you can see how he applies them. Awesome book--I'm hoping there will be a volume 2...

I attended Von Glitschka's "Illustrative Design" session at the 2008 HOW Design conference in Boston and was so inspired by his presentation and work that I decided to purchase his book of textures.

The textures provided are manipulated from actual photos that he has taken almost daily. While it is true that he does not provide detailed instruction on how to use the textures in the book, he does provide links to his website where you can find tutorials. The textures are grayscale and not "clip art", but are intended to be incorporated into your own work to create your own illustrations and designs, which is why I suspect he has not provided specific instructions for their use. The 60 sample illustrations included in the book cover a wide range of application and showcase each texture. You also get 60 bonus textures included on the DVD that are not highlighted in the book.

Get this book, get inspired, get creative, and have fun!

I ordered this book thinking it was a paper back and probably not very big. It turned out to be a large hardcover with 60 full page images of projects various artists created using Von's textures, which by the way, are shown on the opposite page in black and white so you really get an idea of how versatile the texture can be. At first I wasn't sure how to use them and wondered how the color was added, but if you just use your noggin it is pretty simple to figure out. (I am a beginning designer/student and believe me if I can do it anyone can...)

I love the book, love the textures and have many ideas of how I am going to use them in future projects. I also think the title is very fitting, I would highly recommend this book because any worthwhile artist/designer is going to appreciate the many creative opportunities the textures provide. Way to go Von !!

An excellent resource for designers - graphic to photographic. The other reviewers have the details. This is my personal thank you to Von for creating an excellent resource for creativity.

Can't say enough about the prepped textures ready to use and the included DVD with all the textures plus more is invaluable. Only downside of the book was the repetitive and elementary examples. Too many vector style examples. Would have enjoyed more photographic to graphic design applications as examples. But, nonetheless, very pleased with the book and DVD. Great buy and timesaver!

For a city like New York one book can never really fit the whole history. But if you're looking for the place to start then this is it.
It has good research on all periods of development and culture, with great images that come up a treat on the large format quality stock paper. the editing and design are nice too.
It draws from the PBS series from the late ninties, but this version has an extra update at the end to accomodate 9/11.
I remember seeing the TV series on air, but cannot find it in region 4 DVD format, so the book was the only way I could get the information from it.
As mentioned above you can never fit all of NYC in one book; either you cut all the bits down too much or focus on certain parts; there is a focus, as is common, on Manhatten.
But whenever you come across parts where you want to know more this book provides enough threads for research to go on and find out.
Curiously, there are periods of the book that use particular writers of NYC as themes to contextualize its history such as Walt Whitman and F Scott Fitzgerald.
A great way to begin learning about the greatest city on earth.

For anyone wanting a history of New York City, for whatever reason, this companion book to the DVD series is superior. There is very little left out, yet it is succinct and readable. Highly recommended.

This is an excellent story about that marvellous city.
I watched the series at PBS and felt in love with it so much that i must have the book. It is an amazing piece of history well told and very serious. I love the illustrations .

Pros: very well organized, interesting to read.
Cons: page 117 says that A. Lincoln was the "twelfth president of the United States". All my other references claim that he was sixteenth. How many errors like that does this book contain?

This is the story of New York City, elegantly written and generously illustrated. Of all of the various books about New York's history -- this is the one to have.

I have to say that I was swept away by this novel, from beginning to end. The characters are completely captivating, the poetry is hypnotic, and the storyline is absolutely phenomenal. Ebony Farashuu has written an intriguing book about hope, life, and love. It literally had me laughing and crying in different parts of the book. I HIGHLY recommend it.

"The sensational novel Slow Burn is completely engaging from the very first page. Readers will be drawn into this exciting book as the author pens a novel that delivers a dynamic story that will have your emotions reaching every gamut."

"A powerful and endearing love develops between Serafina and Khalil. Their love is unexpected and totally unconventional from the very first time they meet. This love is tested when a tragic accident jeopardizes their future together."

"Jeremy is Serafina's ex-boyfriend who finally realizes what he lost when their relationship ended. Now it appears to be too late or will he get a chance with the woman he now realizes he loves?"

"Ayzha is Serafina's girlfriend who is stuck in an unhappy marriage. Ayzha meets a handsome man who seems to be the answer to her problems or will he bring more drama to her life?"

`This is absolutely a terrific story that you simply will not forget."

Slow Burn, Ebony Farashuu's debut novel, is a tale of friendship and love, what it is to be loved, not feel loved and confused in love. Each of the novel's characters will make you want to laugh, cry and even be upset with them at one point or another. Serafina is confused and in love with two men. Which will she choose, "God's homeboy" Khalil or Jeremy, whose been known to be a womanizer? Then there's Serafina's best friend Ayzha, who is in a loveless marriage and seeking love in all the wrong places with playboy, Tyree. Little does Ayzha know that love has been staring her in the face for years.

Farashuu does a good job of developing her characters and the pace of the storyline was just right for me. Relationships, actions and consequences are examined through some of life's most unfortunate circumstances.

I would read another book by this author and am looking forward to Orchid's Nectar.

For a first novel, this book was interesting and an easy read. Great book for readers in their late teens to early 30s, or readers who championed the Harequin romance novels. This writer is obviously very talented. I look forward to reading her next book.

Author Ebony Farashuu definitely sparks a fire with her debut novel Slow Burn. Although Slow Burn is a love story it shouldn't be confused with a sappy Harlequin Romance novel. Ms. Farashuu brings so much more to the table. Slow Burn centers around four characters struggling with life and love.

When it comes to Ayzha's marriage love don't live here anymore is an understatement. She's trapped in a loveless marriage to Riley a man 15 years her senior. Riley cruelly turns his back on Ayzha after she begins taking birth control pills after deciding that she couldn't suffer through yet another miscarriage. Ayzha desperately wants her marriage to work but Riley has no interest in having sex that can't lead to conception. Starving for affection Ayzha is easy pickings for Tyree who's offering to give her all that she misses at home.

Serafina finally found the strength to let go of her philandering boyfriend Jeremy. But the break up has left her bitter and guarded. Opening her heart up to Khalil wasn't easy but he quickly provided everything that was missing in her life. Can she survive when tragedy strikes threatening to leave her heartbroken once again?

Khalil is tired of the rat race. Being the son of a celebrity he's had more women than he can count. Tired of one night stands he takes a vow of celibacy until he meets that special lady. Convincing Serafina that she's that woman wasn't easy but he wooed her and promised never to leave her side. But that's a promise that fate might not allow him to keep.

Jeremy's father led him to believe at an early age that manhood was judged by the number of women bedded. So he doesn't blink an eye when Serafina gives him his walking papers. He's a handsome doctor and Serafina wasn't the only woman in his stable. Besides she'll be back she always comes back. But 3 months later he finds out that Sera is engaged and finally realizes that she was the one. But now it's too late or is it? With Sera's fiancée on his deathbed will Jeremy use this opportunity to get back the one that got away?

Filled with Ms. Farashuu's poetic voice Slow Burn is a captivating tale that will definitely light readers fire.

Lyons' first novel BURN is a fast-paced and immensely enjoyable read...gene-splicing the brass-knuckled, classy pulp fiction of Jack O'Connell and James Elroy with the wired and bleak urban future of William Gibson and BLADE RUNNER. Lyons is thorough in his construction of this not-so-far future environment, which is all too plausible in its technological and societal forecasts. If tomorrow is looking grim, though, we're consoled by the guts of the main characters like our protagonist Cage, and the stand-out character, Jonny Cache, a walking blow-up doll upgraded into a tough android who's more human than her enemies. One can only hope that Lyons has a long career as a novelist, if this is the first he has to offer. Just the scene where a computer virus in the guise of Godzilla lays waste to a virtual neighborhood is worth the price of admission alone!

---WARNING! POSSIBLE SPOILERS---
This the novel a teenager would write, after getting really impressed with WILLIAM GIBSON's Spawl Trilogy and watching BLADE RUNNER one too many times. I bought this book after reading all the raving reviews (never had I seen such high percentage of top-100 Amazon reviewers praising a book thus). With all due respect, I am afraid I have to disagree.

I do realize this to be a first novel so I was willing to give some leeway. However, in the back pages JONATHAN LYONS is said to be teaching courses in creative writing and science fiction at Bucknell University. Well, honestly, I failed to identify one originally created idea in this book of his!
What can one label as a creative idea: the discovery of an alternative power resource that would make fossil fuel obsolete - yet the powers that be suppress it? (no, nothing new there either, it's... solar power); the robot that attains consciousness? the similar infantile AI in cyberspace? the plutocratic family that rules through numerous generations by cryogenics and cloning? the flying cars? the down-but-not-out ex-cop making ends meet by becoming a PI? the verbose villain that explains too much for his own good?
Also, short chapters work only if one's prose is so strong it could be considered poetry. Otherwise, it is just an ineffective staccato effect that gums up the story flow.

Two final notes: first, drenching everything in (black) rain and adding an actual PI does not necessarily add a noir streak to a futuristic novel.
And finally, when one tries to weave science into a science fiction novel, he better know what he is talking about - otherwise, dropping "chaos theory" and "Mendelbrot" here and there is plain silly.

Burn is a tightly written book that says a lot in 205 pages. It uses the well-loved formula of a down on his luck dectective battling the establishment against mean odds. Lyons employs many cyber-noir standards such as AI robot consciousness, flesh-machine interface, enviroment that is pollution crippled and various subcultures that are disenfranchised.

The dectective, Cage, is hired to find out why the mega-corporation controlled cops have abandoned a strange death. Other deaths by the same method begin showing up. The murder weapon turns out to be one of the most unusual ever used in crime fiction.

The prose is sparse and unpretentious, the dialogue is straight-forward but the story gets told in an entertaining manner. Good stuff, if you want a quick easy read.

Billed as a science fiction noir, the book is that, but a lot more too. The author has a gift for description, describing the darkness of a future world where Big Brother is in the form of the worldwide corporation,Expediate, and where much of the globe is in eternal twilight due to the smog and acid rain.

Cage was once a detective on the Old New York police force, forced to retire after Expediate got involved in one of his cases. He ekes out a living as a private detective, but his strangest case is yet to come.

A new client, Janice Gild wants him to investigate the death of her brother, as the police have dropped the case. The victim was burned, but there were no marks anywhere except on the body, was it a case of spontaneous human combustion? And then more victims turn up, seemingly unrelated...

This is an interesting book, the story and backstory flows well without giving too much away at first. It works well as a straight mystery, and the future setting and technology adds to the tale, without distracting from it. There are enough twists and turns to keep puzzlers happy for hours. I can see this working great as a film. A mix of 1984 and Bladerunner, but a unique style all its own, this is one to catch.

Reviewed by Annette Gisby, author of Silent Screams and Shadows of the Rose.

In post-environmental-apocalyptic Old New York City, acidic rains fall in a surreal dirty near-night landscape. In a world where the environment has shifted following corporate brutal abuses intent upon profit, citizens don filter masks and non-reactive coats as a matter of course. NewSchool Grrls, Nouveau Gothics and rogue-boyz populate bars like the Nine Circles, where chip rental outpaces consumption of alcohol, allowing patrons to experience the highs and lows of drugs without the aftereffects.

Cage had once been a career cop with a wife, a good partner and a retirement plan with Expedite Corporation, the corporate sponsors of Old New York's police force. Then he challenged Expedite Corporation and lost his job, his wife and his future in the same day. Now he ekes out a living as a private detective. Janice Gild arrives in Cage's office, hiring him to investigate the death of her brother James. The police attribute the case to spontaneous human combustion and have dropped the investigation. Soon Cage learns that James is not the only person to die this way.

Jonny Cache, a beautiful android, is a netrunner of unique talent, able to slip past any security system undetected. Once she delivers information to those who hire her skills, Jonny burns the information from her memory to the tune of "Ring of Fire," recorded by her namesake in an almost forgotten sunlit era. Jonny achieved sentience because of James Gild. She wants answers to his death. She will begin to find those answers in an online virtual world run by paranormal enthusiasts that leads to a real world meeting with Cage. Together they will attempt to find answers without arousing the attention of Expedite Corporation or the police force it funds.

Debut novelist Jonathan Lyons juxtaposes a frightening futuristic landscape with a hero in the tradition of the 30's private investigator. A corporation runs the world, destroying the environment for profit and funding law enforcement. Despite this bleak landscape, these characters thrive, creating their own unique niches in a world gone wrong, merging their humanity with technology seamlessly. Fans of technoir or cyberpunk will find BURN to be a highly entertaining read, with richly developed characters, and a fast paced plot. Readers will be disappointed to reach the conclusion and left hoping for more! A stunning narrative with haunting possibilities, BURN has earned the WordWeaving Award of Excellence.

Tom is your typical middle-school boy. He is just a little rough around the edges, has a crush on the prettiest girl in class, and hangs out with a friend talking about cool cars and gross stuff. Then, a new girl comes to class for two weeks - two weeks that change who Tom is deep inside.

The new girl has been disfigured in a fire and has come to Tom's town for treatments. In this brief little story, Tom's inward character comes rising out of himself - often to his own surprise - as he resists the crowd's reactions to this poor girl.

The author doesn't create an overly heroic response. Instead he allows the reader to view a very realistic struggle...to want to be better than you are...yet still wrestle with a desire to be relieved of caring so much.

What an EXCELLENT novel! Everything isn't tidily resolved at the end. It's just a glimpse at the life-changing moments we face that shape our character.

Delivery of this product was prompt. The story is a little slow getting started, and it contains some unneeded off-color language, which is disappointing as I purchased this for my children. The story line is fine, however.

I liked the book Firegirl. It was about a girl named Jessica who was burned in a car fire. Jessica is visiting a hospital while going to school. She is getting treatment there. Tom is the kid who goes to the school and no one is nice to Jessica. I would recommend this book to people who like sad stories. The ending was not satisfying and sudden.

Fire Girl is a serious, good book about a boy named Tom. It takes place in New York in a private middle school. I liked the part where Mrs. Tracy mentions Jessica Feeney. She said that Jessica is a new student who had been badly burned over her whole body, and may look different from them. I thought what it would be like to be burned over my whole body. That was the spine chilling part! The part where Jessica moves away forever was so sad. For my opinion I gave it 5 stars. If you want a thrilling book get Fire Girl!

This book starts out very slow, four chapters full of Tom's meandering daydreams of his favorite sportscar and detailed imagined adventures of rescuing a pretty classmate, as well as plain old everyday thoughts. It is fun to see the inner workings of a middle-school boy's mind, but on and on it goes, often coming across as chatter. Then Jessica Feeney shows up--the new girl--and the real story begins.

Everyone is horrified by Jessica's disfigurement and no one knows quite how to relate to her, and so she is ignored or made fun of behind her back. Tom, however, is fascinated with her (some would say he develops a preoccupation with her) that leads to empathy and the courage to be her friend.

The story takes an admirable path as an average boy becomes aware of what's really important in life, but it really drags in places because of way too much commentary. I believe a good editor could have done wonders with this book. And is a 7th grade boy's preoccupation and high degree of emotional sensitivity concerning a burned girl realistic? It was a good idea for a story, and my fifth-grader and I didn't want to put it down once things got underway, but there was just too much extranneous material to wade through and we did think it somewhat unrealistic. One aspect I really liked, though, was that the story was from a boy's point of view, so hopefully boys as well as girls will want to read the book, which drives home the point that we are all the same in our need to be loved and accepted and that small caring gestures can make a world of difference.

Replay is the story of a boy who feels lost in his large family. His siblings have talents that he views as more appreciated by his parents, like football and singing. During the story, the boy discovers that he wants to try his hand at acting and earns a part in a play written by his drama teacher. His best friend also earns a part. In the end, he learns that he is a fine actor and his parents are proud of his accomplishments.

While much of the story is surface bound and does not deal with the tougher issues of adolescence, the revelation of his friend's loss of a little brother earlier in her life brings some depth to the plot. As an only child, the busy, bustling family life that was so difficult for the main character sounded fantastic to me!

In the classroom, I would use the play script at the back of the story to act out the actual play prior to reading the accompanying story. In addition, it might be useful as part of a bigger study of family units and sibling relationships.

Sharon Creech is a master at young adult literature. This book had humor, emotion, and was an accurate depiction of families. It was also very touching. I really enjoyed it.

Although it was very hard for me to get past page 15, after that the book was great. It told a story about a dreamer who is always trying to escape his life and is always thinking that his life and his brothers and sisters are changing. Leo doesn't like what happened to his family after his father's horrible heart attack.
I liked the idea in the book of everyone in the world having a script. I personally would not want one, I like surprises in life. But the idea was amazing, and it was SO funny what they were saying about the script of their life.!!!-CC Wang age 9

Although it was very hard for me to get past page 15, after that the book was great. It told a story about a dreamer who is always trying to escape his life and is always thinking that his life and his brothers and sisters are changing. Leo doesn't like what happened to his family after his father's horrible heart attack.
I liked the idea in the book of everyone in the world having a script. I personally would not want one, I like surprises in life. But the idea was amazing, and it was SO funny what they were saying about the script of their life.!!!-CC Wang age 9

Sharon Creech has written this excellent book and I highly suggest reading it. I would recommend this book for people ages 8 to12. The main character, Leonardo, is easy to relate to. He is a big dreamer, which got him the name "Fog Boy". He has another nickname "Sardine". He got that one because he is one of four kids and he felt like he was squished and small.
One rainy day, Leo decides to go up to the attic to explore. While he is up there he finds a pair of his papa's tap shoes and an autobiography of his papa when he was 13. Leo reads the autobiography a lot and finds that it mentions a sister of Papa's whom Leo has never heard of, Rosaria. Leo tries hard to find out about Rosaria, but he feels that he cannot ask his papa because his papa got mad at him when he caught him searching through his stuff in the attic.
I like this book because of the great descriptions of Leo's papa's autobiography and you can really put yourself in the characters' place during the play that Leo is in, Rumpopo's Porch. Another reason I like this book is because Leo is in a play and Sharon Creech puts the full play in the back of the book. Sharon Creech has also written Walk Two Moons, Absoulutely Normal Chaos, Pleasing the Ghost, Chasing Redbird, The Wanderer, Love That Dog, Heartbeat, and more.
Replay is a fiction book. It is very original and is easy to enjoy because you can relate to at least one of the characters.