Clark Books

The Lost Valley / The Wolves of God reprints two hard-to-find anthologies of fantasy, horror, and occult short stories in a single volume. Written by Algernon Blackwood, who forsook his Catholic upbringing to explore Oriental religion and the occult, the stories were created during the end of the 19th and the first half of the 20th century, and reflect the changing world of that tumultuous era. A tantalizingly mysterious collection, especially recommended for fans of gaslight horror and occult tales by more widely publicized authors such as H.P. Lovecraft and Robert E. Howard.

This collection is, in a word, incredible. I can only hope that Stark House will continue to issue more of his harder to find work.

In my opinion Algernon Blackwood was the greatest practicioner of supernatural literature, he has no equal; and the stories in these two volumes will not disappoint. Blackwood has such command of narrative, that he sweeps you into his tales and leaves you quite breathless at the end. More than being frightening, the majority of these pieces will fill you with a sense of wonder and awe.

Overall, the Lost Valley is probably my favorite in the collection. It is a very emotional and tragic story, differing in style a bit from some of his other works. Most surprising to me was The Eccentricity of Simon Parnacute. Just the title is humorous, and sure enough, what ensues is a very comical and unusual tale......but then all of a sudden, he hits you with a powerful ending.

Ghosts are few and far between in this one, and that is actually a good thing. Once again, his stories are more mystical in nature.

Anybody who enjoys authors like Arthur Machen, M.R. James, Lord Dunsany, H.P. Lovecraft, or even Neil Gaiman should read this book, and anything else you can find of his.

The tales in "The Lost Valley and Other Stories" (back in print for the first time in God knows how many years) are by turns mystifying, horrifying, intensely moving, funny, incredibly beautiful... and sometimes all of them at once! Algernon Blackwood is mostly remembered as a great writer of ghost stories, but he was SO much more than that - a writer of (mostly) supernatural tales with a truly unique vision. There's hardly a ghost to be found in "The Lost Valley and Other Stories", but it is chock full of other kinds of weird manifestations that are so original they are very hard to describe. Blackwood was one of a kind, and deserves to be much more widely read than he is.

As a great bonus, "The Wolves of God and Other Fey Stories" is also included in this volume. This rare collection contains a number of excellent and memorable stories, although it is from Blackwood's later, post-World War I period, when his work had lost some of the wild visionary quality that makes his early work so special. But he was still a master story-teller, and no true fan of supernatural fiction will want to be without this. The collection also includes at least a couple of stories from Blackwood's "golden period" which never found their way into the earlier collections (such as "The Man Who Found Out" and "The Empty Sleeve").

Contained in this volume:

"The Lost Valley and Other Stories":
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The Lost Valley
The Wendigo
Old Clothes
Perspective
The Terror of the Twins
The Man From the "Gods"
The Man Who Played Upon the Leaf
The Price of Wiggins' Orgy
Carlton's Drive
The Eccentricity of Simon Parnacute

"The Wolves of God and Other Fey Stories":
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The Wolves of God
Chinese Magic
Running Wolf
First Hate
The Tarn of Sacrifice
The Valley of the Beasts
The Call
Egyptian Sorcery
The Decoy
The Man Who Found Out
The Empty Sleeve
Wireless Confusion
Confession
The Lane That Ran East and West
"Vengeance is Mine"

Words fail me on just how brilliant the Allred's 'Madman' stories are.
If you like intelligent, witty, surreal and at times touching stories than pick up these books while you still can.
Make sure you read them in order and you will be rewarded with one of the most enlightening experiences you can possible get from a comic book.

This collection is an excellent introduction to the bizarre world of Madman. Mike Allred delivers a brilliant homage to classic sixties "silver-age" super heroes with all the staple campness and heavy melodrama but with enough early nineties indy-comic irony to keep it all in check. Allred's pop-arty drawing style is a perfect fit for the story and anyone familar with his recent work on X-force/X-statix should feel right at home. Everything about the book is pure manic fun right down to the dancing Madman flip-book animation that runs along the bottom of each page.

This book was my first introduction to Madman, as it is in fact a collection of the first few issues of the (at the time very independant) series by Mike Allred. I just loved this book so much that I continued to follow the character and subsequent volumes, but none ever captured the same unique, bizarre specialness of this first adventure. The art is very cool but presented in black and white but don't let that prevent you from checking it out. It's a wonderfully kooky, charming and entertaining piece of storytelling. Funny and original.

Author Lloyd C. Douglas offers an extraordinary gift in this book -- the spiritual key to a fulfilled life. Together with the sequel, "Dr. Hudson's Secret Journal," Douglas uses the vehicle of compelling storytelling to describe a way to extend oneself outward and form an eternal connection with humankind. Douglas, a former Protestant minister who also gave us "The Robe" and "The Big Fisherman," explains how one's life can be transformed through the act of giving to others. I first read this book and its sequel when I was a young teenager. They have remained at the top of my favorites list ever since. Whether you're looking for an enjoyable novel, or something with deeper meaning, "Magnificent Obsession" will not disappoint you.

This book shows us how we should all be living today - loving our neighbor, and doing good for the sake of doing good, rather than for the recognition. The good works we are able to accomplish multiply and become even more magnificent when the benefactor remains anonymous, and requests the recipient to "pass it on" - what a positive contribution to society!

It has frequently been said of this strange story that the people who read it are never quite the same again! Douglas at his best. A wonderful book!!

The fact that this work has an Amazon sales rank greater than 200,000 says more about the state of our culture than it does the value of this book. The author is a Yale sociologist who uses knowledge of his chosen vocation to peruse scripture and church tradition for Christian teaching on gender roles. In a little less than 800 pages Clark offers up a stunning theology of how the church has responded to gender issues in the past and how we as modern-day believers should respond to this current hornet's nest of political correctness. I am so convinced of the importance of the gender issue debate and the strength of the work Clark has done in this book that I believe every Christian should read it. The Christian church is stagnating and ineffective in today's issue debates not because her positions are poor, but because she has become ignorant and apathetic.

I read Clark's masterpiece in the late 1970s or early 1980s, and it has formed the bedrock of my thinking about men and women in (or out of) the Church ever since. I have had many years to evaluate new arguments and issues, and Clark's analysis keeps proving to be the soundest way of resolving each one. Clark is a rare scholar who unites a number of different disciplines in support of an original position which is fully consistent with Scripture.

Thorough interaction with biblical text, feminists and conservative elements on this difficult topic. Also, interacts with social sciences as subtitle suggests.

Find his documentation well done and so useful. The material on the scriptural teachings is much more useful to the Christian church than those dealing with the sociological, community issues.

William B. Secrest has finally given readers a true insight into the life of the mysterious Harry Love, "The Man from the Rio Grande." Many stories have been written about the notorious bandit, Joaquin Murrieta. This is the first I have read about the man who brought him to justice. It is a very interesting and accurate portrayal of Harry and the events that formed his life. A must for aficionados of the Wild West.

The Man From The Rio Grande is a biography of Harry Love, the leader of the California Rangers who pursed and captured Joaquin Murrieta, leader of a gang of Mexican bandits wreaking havoc in the 1850's. Since the pursuit and capture of Murrieta stands out in history, Murrieta's complete story is included as also. Extensively researched, The Man From The Rio Grande traces Love's humble beginnings as an army courier and express rider to his famous achievement in the name of justice, to his efforts as a pioneer sawmill operator and farmer, and his unfortunately failed marriage. A revealing glimpse into life on the American frontier through the eyes of an ordinary man turned legendary hero.

By necessity a biographer of legendary California Ranger Harry Love must deconstruct numerous myths surrounding the man Walter Noble Burns called the Robin Hood of El Dorado, the undeservedly romanticized Joaquin Murrieta. Such an author must also tell of the brief history of the California Rangers, and of the lawless atmosphere of the early years of California statehood. Distinguished California historian William B. Secrest does all this for Harry Love, a figure long overdue for a proper biography.

Secrest shows the one-time Texas Ranger Love, by virtue of his Rio Grande experiences, to be the ideal choice of the California legislature to lead a group of twenty Rangers in tracking down the elusive "Joaquin." Murrieta by then was, in Secrest's words, a man whose "hands were stained with the blood of dozens of victims." Whether Murrieta was killed by Love's Rangers has always been questioned by some, despite the identification of his severed head (in a bottle) by many who knew him. In his most compelling writing, Secrest methodically presents a mountain of documented evidence that Love did end Murrieta's life of crime, and that Murrieta's preserved head was convincingly and unmistakably identified by those who knew him.

Love has been called a "drunken brute," a lying braggart, and a fraud, but Secrest portrays a complex and multi-dimensional pioneer figure. Love came to California as early as 1839, and returned to stay during the gold rush. This followed his stalwart service as a volunteer and employee of the U. S. Army along the Rio Grande during the tumultuous 1840s. Love was an imposing figure who could organize a hunt with purpose and tenacity. Yet he was capable of appallingly bad choices in many aspects of his personal life, particularly in his glory-less final years. He made poor business decisions in later life while attempting to prosper at his sawmill and farm, and he especially erred in his choice to settle down with the `wife from hell.' This last poor choice cost him his life, when he provoked his own killing by the mysterious Christian "Fred" Eiversen.

Lavishly illustrated, there are other riches to be found between this book's covers. The author refers to "cleaning up the loose ends of the Murrieta story," and does just that. The myth of Murrieta as a Robin Hood or social bandit is thoroughly discredited. The author calls on Hispanic historians to bring to bear on Murrieta's story the special insights of their heritage and culture, in order to create a truly in-depth study of Murrieta. He lays to rest his bogus image as a nationalistic Chicano liberator and folk hero. This characterization Secrest correctly labels as "insulting to the thousands of decent Hispanic pioneers to whom he caused great distress, grief, and shame." The lengthy epilogue includes the interesting if bizarre story Mariana Andrada, a purported wife of Murrieta.

On a final note, the author relates how Harry Love's long-lost grave was marked with a new and detailed headstone in 2003. William Secrest fittingly was chosen to speak at the dedication of Love's new monument. This book makes a persuasive case that such a monument was deserved for this colorful pioneer Californian.

I absolutely loved this book. Shorter than I thought it would be but well worth the money.

I just completed reading THE MAN WHO TALKS WITH THE FLOWERS by Glenn Clark and awesome describes my feelings as the author gave insight into the man known for his discoveries of multiple uses of the peanut and sweet potatoe, AND, what I did not know, was also known as a "liberated slave who saved the South from another type of slavery".

If you enjoy searching to find what kind of life experiences were involved with those who changed the course of familes, cities, nations, or who have inspired your life - then you will not be dissappointed in reading this small but powerful account of one man's encounter with Dr. George Washington Carver.

In this book, you will get a glimpse of him through the eyes of someone who knew him personally, not only as a chemist, but as a man who knew his Creator. You will discover why Dr. Carver had such a fascination with flowers and what part this played in the development of his study and research. You will learn how he received his name, get a glimpse of his beginning years as a child born to slavery, how he was educated, and what passion always kept him striving to discover more. You will learn why he was referred to as "the man no one sees without a flower in his buttonhole and the love of God in his heart".

I hope that others will enjoy this reading as much as I have.

I re-read and re-read this little book. One of my favorite parts: the author walks into Carver's lab and he's just sitting there looking at this little white flower. "What are you doing?" he asked. Carver explained briefly that this was the flower of a crop in North Carolina that was suffering statewide. No one knew what to do to help the farmers, so they sent a plant sample to Dr. Carver. Looking up, he commented, "I'm sitting here loving this plant. If I can love it enough, it will reveal it's secrets to me." A high spiritual love, that's the method of science that Carver used. He had a direct link with God. Read this book if you can get it.

I grew up in the Santa Clara river valley as did 3 generations of my family before me. I have heard the personal testimony of my relatives who where there at the scene. Charles Outland's book was like reliving those stories with my uncles and grandparents all over again. His book is the only account thats able to put this incredibly tragic set of events into a truely human perspective. It is also the only book that thoroughly explains the historical roots of the dam, it's principle players and the aftermath of the event. It took me 6 months to find a copy and at $175 it wasn't cheap. But, the content and concise quality of Outlands account made it worth every penny. Only 1000 copies of the First edition were printed so good luck finding one. I have read the revised 2nd edition (5000 copies printed) and consider it an even better historical referance than the first edition. In it, Outland adds a lot of insight and follow up material that were not available in 1963. I highly recomend "A Man Made Disaster" to any body interested in historical non-fiction. Steve Yewell

In 1928, the St. Francis Dam, 50 miles north of Los Angeles, collapsed, releasing 12 billion gallons of water. The ensuing flood killed at least 450 people, caused millions of dollars of damage, and brought the career of legendary engineer William Mulholland to a tragic end. Charles Outland witnessed the disaster as a Santa Paula teenager. In 1963, he produced the first edition of this book, the most authoritative history of the subject. Virtually forgotten until then, the St. Francis tragedy remains little-known today, despite the fact that, measured in loss of life, it is the worst American civil engineering failure of the 20th Century. Outland's almost minute-by-minute retelling of the story, and his careful technical analysis, make this book highly readable and an invaluable historical record.

Outland's "Man-Made Disaster" (originally published in 1963)is probably the most complete volume of the story of the St. Francis Dam disaster of 1928. Outland's matter-of-fact narrative follows the course of the flood unleashed by the failed dam, providing tragic and heroic anecdotes along it's path of destruction. The book then goes on th tell the story of the 1928 investigation and coroner's inquest. The final chapter contains Outland's own theories as to the dam's collapse...theories that turned out to be very close to the truth as discovered in a modern forensic study made in the late 1980s.

Author Charles Outland was a teenager at the time of the dam's failure and witnessed the events described in his book first hand. The prologue contains a personal memory of an encounter with a flood survivor on the morning after the disaster. It is Outland's personal involvement that gives the text a clarity and emotional context rare in such non-fiction.

This book's original 1963 publication included a run of only 1,000 copies making it difficult to find. However, if you are an afficianado of California history, western water issues, or civil engineering, it is well worth your effort to locate and read "Man-Made Disaster".

Don't be turned away by the pub date--this is still the best book out there on the topic of new product development. The development framework that informs the structure of the book and their prescriptions is insightful and elegant. I have used the book for many years as a main text book for my 'management of technology' classes, to both engineering and business students, and most students love the book, especially those with real life experience. It's a great book to introduce engineering students to business/project management issues for the first time, and visa versa. The cases are also very well selected.

I have found this book an excellent starting point to understanding product development cycles, the values of planning, and effective project management. It is the best book that I have read on the topic to date.

of the book "Revolutionizing Product Development", same authors. The chapters are segmented according to the logic of the previous mentioned book. It is worth mention the chapters about the application of the "Aggregate Project Plan" and "Structuring the Development Funnel". These chapters tell us about the pitfalls and gave some useful proposition on how to solve it. The examples are OK. It could be a bit difficult to undestand how the process works without the previous reference cited before. There is also some "study questions" that suggests that this book is also for training people on Innovation. Very good idea indeed!

What an amazing resource. This book basically contains walkthroughs as the author builds two Panzer IVs, a Jagdpanzer IV, a Sturmpanzer IV, a Sturmgeschutz IV, and a Flakpanzer IV (with some more info on two other Panzer IV variants as well!), each taking the difficulty level higher. Information about Revell kits, aftermarket details (resin, metal, and photo-etched), scratchbuilding, interiors, and even diorama creation are all covered, as well as various types of paint schemes. There are even a couple pages with photos of a preserved Flakpanzer taken with a modelers eye. Almost 80 pages packed of well-written information in a small font provide insight without getting bogged down in basics. And the author is certainly up to the task of creating models that inspire and awe. The only complaint is that the images are mostly very tiny - 1/72 scale modelers certainly expect to strain their eyes, but this is a little much.

If you are interested in building 1/72 models of WWII German armored vehicles, I cannot recommend this book enough.

This is the first book I came accross that is dedicated to 1/72 scale armour models. It presents a good coverage on the common variants of the famous German tank (Panzer IV). The models presented in the book were constructed with painstaken blinding details (these models are only about 2 inches long!). The book explains many techniques, such as casting and painting, to produce the details in the the models. I recommand this book to any serious modeller who is interested in the small scales.

This is one of the best modelling books I have ever purchased. If features clearly written descriptions of excellent modelling techniques appropriate to the small scale of the subject. The models included are superbly built, well displayed, and beautifully photographed. I will definitely purchase other books by this author, and would like to see more Osprey Modelling armor titles devoted exclusively to 1/72 scale.

I love this book! What a wonderful surprise of a story. Mordecai suffers from melanoia, which is the opposite of paranoia. He hears a "ping" in his head and feels compelled to follow people, and something good ends up happening. Mordecai hangs out at bars in the Monterey of the 70s, and his buddies are a collection of hippyesque misfits, all very colorful and tremendously endearing. His best homey is Buck, a Southern grifter who is constantly planning "get rich quick" schemes. One of my favorite lines by Buck is: "Portuguese bullfighter, that's like marrying the Studebaker of bullfighters. Jane was always trying to be different, English accent and all, but she's as middleclass as a goddamn box of Cheerios."

The writing style is fresh, the adventures are all funny and engaging and real. The multiple characters have their day in the sun, there is a happy ending... What else do you want?

This was a true discovery.

Mordecai polishes his translations of Chinese poetry, moves the junk & households of other Californians, and stays on various back porches & Big Sur getaways finding love and friendship in the 1970's of our memories. Along the way, we ourselves grow to love and appreciate the joys of these marginal characters, the heirs of Steinbeck's Mack and the boys of CANNERY ROW. A magical book!

Mordecai is a zen/bohemian who interacts with the entire social structure of the Big Sur and Monterey area through the moving and hauling business that he runs along with his irrepressible sidekick Buck. Between them they get into more trouble than his good luck (melanoia- the opposite of paranoia))can stand. A comic look at both the bohemian and yuppie foibles of the early 1970s.