Clarke Books

A fantastic overall look at the history of public relations. This book looks indepth at public relations as well as the more recent developments of issues and cris management.

The Handbook of Strategic Public Relation & Integrated Communications gives simple and understanding examples for every chapter; It even explains the historical background of public relations which helps a lot to understand the evolution of the PR industry.
The book describes, in a superficial but clear way, every activity in the PR business; From investor relations to crisis management, The Handbook of Strategic Public Relation & Integrated Communications will give the basics for the PR profession.

Evidently, this book does not target people starting out in Public Relations. I am a VP of Marketing in a start-up company looking to get some feel for the value of PR. I found this book utterly unintelligible. I was also irritated by the constant reference to `clarity of communication' - advice that the author clearly ignores. Why is `plain English' considered to be such a crime? After reading this on a 3 hour flight from Denver to New York, I was none the wiser about PR and given the significant weight of the book, decided to leave it on the plane. This is a text for PR academics.

The Handbook of Strategic Public Relations and Integrated Communications is a thorough piece of work that covers the entire gamut of the public relations industry, from dealing with clients to dealing with the media, from crises to working with marketing.

An extremely useful guide, it is not quite as up-to-date with the latest in the technological age. For that, Michael Levine's Guerrilla PR: Wired is an excellent supplement. Not as wide-ranging as the Handbook, Guerrilla PR: Wired zeroes in on cost-effective public relations strategies and tactics.

The Handbook of Effective Public Relations and Integrated Communications has numerous well-respected members in the public relations and marketing fields contributing their wisdom and experience, letting everyone know what the higher ranking people have learned, the tools to success.

I think this is one of the most comprehensive and cientific book on Public Relations and communications.
As a practical PR professional I have learned through this book from the ABCs of PR to some of the most advanced subjects on PR and communications.
It has been very relevant for me to have the historical background of PR in order to understand the fundamentals of my professional practice as well as to become concious of the breath of the PR and communications application to business and government.

If Only in My Dreams was a captivating read. It was romantic, erotic and intriguing. As a hopeless romantic, this book kept me turning the pages in hopes of two strangers meeting, not just on-line, but in person and falling in love. Moreen did an excellent job of creating tension between Olivia and Malcolm. I was swept away by the love letters and great story telling between the two.

IF ONLY IN MY DREAMS was an excellent novel. This book was about sex and romance and the ups and downs that you may face in a relationship. I think that every woman who trying out the online dating scene should really read this book. All I can say is WOW!!!!

Stirs and awakens one's imagination while arousing the sexual fantasies of the reader.

"A must read for any lover of romance and intrigue"

"A writer with an enormous capacity to record sensuous life as it is experienced from one "mind blowing" email to the next!" Without giving anything away, you have to read it to understand how this book has it all!! It's intoxicating, romantic, sad and very forgiving! And gives you a whole new perspective on "online dating and friendship." What a challenge!! Ms. Clarke's writing skills make you visualize every sentence, every paragraph! What an adventure! CHECK IT OUT, OPRAH!!! A LITERARY STAR IS BORN!!!"

If Only In My Dreams by R. Moreen Clarke is one of those reads that will have you thinking long after you put it down. After the death of her fiance, Olivia Cane has yet to date or find love again, so she decides to try Internet dating and meets Malcolm. She feels that Malcolm is her "knight in shining armor" and quickly begins to fall for him despite her doubts and everyone's concerns. They correspond through emails and soon begin to speak by phone but more and more questions begin to develop in Olivia's mind as Malcolm can only contact her and seems hesitate after she begins to want to meet in person. Finally the day arrives when they agree to meet in person and after Olivia sees him, she not only feels betrayed by his appearance but also begins to question herself. If true love is what she seeks, why does appearance matter?? Isn't what's on the inside what truly matters?? Deciding to follow her heart and swallow her doubts, she decides to give her relationship with Malcolm another try but little does she know that he is keeping secrets and hiding who he truly is.

If Only In My Dreams will capture your attention from the first page as you get swept up in the ensuring romance between Olivia and Malcolm, it is a real and honest look at Internet dating as it asks the old-age question, "Do Looks Really Matter" when searching for your true love?? It shows how easy how it easy it is to fall in love with the "person" and not the "image". This is a wonderful story of romance, friendship, and intrigue. Reviewed by Shay C of PeoplewholoveGoodBooks

The book was fun to read; it gave the detail and the background that I like because it sets the historical stage nicely for the well-publicized behavior of the Younger and James brothers. And it's not first out-West book I've read which shows the thin line between heroic gunmen like Wyatt Earp and bad guys. So, that the Youngers and Jameses were tipped onto the side of outlawry after the bitter Civil War period is believable.
The only trouble I had with the book was that it was a bit sloppily written -- and edited -- which I noted from the number of typographical errors and misspellings. The author referred to Charleton College (not Carleton College), correcting it in the second reference, and Hemline, instead of Hamline University. It made me wonder how many other mistakes there were.
I also wondered why no major endorsements like from the book clubs of the Washington Post or New York Times or Los Angeles Times were included in the introduction. I suspect they weren't favorable, if they were done at all. I find little value in an endorsement from a TV cowboy.
But I loved reading about the Youngers and that period. And the writing was fairly well done.

This book is perhaps the best book about the Youngers to date, in a field that's not crowded with great works. This is her first book and she falls into the trap facing all biographers - objectivity. The book certainly seems to suffer from a pro-Confederate bias in the tone of her work, much as some books suffer from a pro-Northern bias. This book also relies on on the so-called "Maggie" letters for some of its most interesting revelations. Maggie is the alleged mistress of Bob Younger, but we are told in the note on the sources [page 340] that the actual source of these letters can't be revealed as they are in a private collection and can't be examined. Ditto with a number of alleged letters concerning Jim Younger. I would have given this book higher marks but for this. Some of the information may, or may not, be reliable, and this isn't made fully clear in the main text. If one day it becomes possible to examine and confirm the authenticity of these, the book certainly deserves a revised edition. Unless another book appears on the horzon, I'd say this will be the standard biography of the Youngers for some years to come.

The story of the Youngers is very well told in this solid biography. As well as presenting well-researched information, the author writes in an engrossing style. It's good story-telling.
One area I found as having room for dispute was her use of Cole Younger's autobiography. She quotes from it extensively while at the same time saying that there's hardly a word of truth in it. I wouldn't go that far. People seldom lie outright in autobiographies--they hedge, leave things out, recolor things to make themselves look better. On the other hand, Cole Younger (an admitted felon) wrote an autobiography that is, at best, clintonian to the extreme, but I think there are far more elements of truth than the author gives credit for. As an example, Cole states flatly that Frank and Jesse James were not at Northfield. He says that two men using the aliases Howard and Woods were there, and he refuses to name their real names. Well, Frank and Jesse were living under the names Woodson and Howard at the time, so while Cole's statement isn't openly truthful, it is not entirely untruthful. In 1903, when he wrote, he was still protecting Frank James from a murder charge in Minnesota. I would have liked the author to give a bit more effort to finding the truth's in Cole's writings than the untruths. But that's a minor downcheck to a fine piece of work.

This was not a good book-it was a GREAT book! Again, Brant has done some quality research. We see the whole picture from the origin of the Youngers since the grandparents on to the father, a wealthy Henry Younger, being murdered by The Union troops, his farm being plundered and burned to the ground, leaving the sons to find a way to survive in western Missouri during the Civil War. This book provides a real window into the era, the motives of The Union as well as the reasons these men had to live the way they did. Anyone interested in this type of material will enjoy this book. We see who they were, why they were like this and especially get a new, documented perspective on the cruelty and barbaric behavior of The Union during this era. It also provides a new, accurate perspective of Southern Culture during this time period that is far removed from Hollywood.

This is an extremely engaging account of the less famous half of the James-Younger gang. It is beautifully written and well researched. The author also provides a vivid glimpse into the suffering of the Southern civilian during the Civil War, which is an aspect of this era that seems to be under-reported by most authors dealing with this topic. Brant is aggressive in her writing and fills in the occasional gaps in the Younger's history with plausable theories. Her account of the Northfield raid and the eventual capture of the Youngers is by far the most detailed and informative version of this episode that I have read. This book is written intelligently yet it is never dry and dull. An interesting and exciting read. A real page turner!

Peter Clarke's book on Tigran Petrosian is the indispensable counterpart to his classic volume on Mikhail Tal. Tal and Petrosian could not have been more dissimilar, yet Clarke treats each subject with equal mastery. Tigran Petrosian was at first a modest amateur player who, nevertheless, believed that ultimately he had a field marshal's baton in his knapsack - and he set out to prove it. Not for him the sudden and dramatic storming of the highest chess bastions - Petrosian gradually moved up the ranks, perfecting his ultra strategic style and focussing on the elimination of loss, rather than victory at all costs. This softly-softly approach brought Petrosian the world crown and enabled him to retain it for six years, thus outperforming Smyslov, Tal, Spassky and Fischer. The games in this book, which bring us to Petrosian's successful match against Botvinnik, demonstrate an ethereal beauty of which few other champions were capable.
Peter Clarke won numerous silver medals in the British Championships, he represented England in the World Championship cycle and he played top board for England in the Chess Olympiad at Havana 1966. He is a fluent Russian reader and his notes access the very best of contemporary Soviet commentary.

I haven't been able to find any other books on Petrosian's chess, and in any case 'Petrosian's Best Games' does justice to the master player. Clarke handled his work on Mikhail Tal quite well, and despite the fact that Tal and Petrosian had vastly different styles, he manages to write on both with the same quite high quality.
The book progresses through his career in just the right, methodical way for a subject who was known for his dedicated climb to the top, and resolute retention of the world title. The anotation is excellent, and although I can see how the notation may be slightly dense for those a little unfamiliar with works on chess, I think this book easily merits 4 stars. I would have preferred a little less focus on the very early years, but otherwise the high quality publishing would have earned it a fifth star as well.

Clarke's analysis is a bit superficial, and the games are all in descriptive notation (when will they stop publishing chess books with that clunky method?) The games are exceptional; it's hard to find books on Petrosian's games, but it could be better.

If you haven't read Peter Clarke's works on Petrosian and Tal, you are missing a chess treat of the very highest order. Clarke is a phenomenally talented chess writer, whose annotations are an instructive as anything out there in the whole of chess literature. If you are into chess books, you need his major works. His Dover book, 100 Soviet miniatures, is great too.
The reason that Clarke's writing is so important is that Petrosian himself never annotated a collection of his own games. This is a great loss to the world of chess players, because to many players, Petrosian is the modern incarnation of Nimzowitsch. Petrosian worshipped Nimzowitsch, and prophylaxis was the bas is of his play. More than any other champion, Petrosian constantly sought to limit the options of his opponent. Importantly for the fan of Nimzowitsch, Petrosian played in a more modern era than Nimzo, and so he faced all the openings that Nimzo never faced (Benonis, Benkos, modern Sicilians, etc.). Nimzo lived long enough ago that we see many somewhat bizarre openings played in his games. If you wonder what Nimzo might have played like in the second half of the 20th century, the games of Petrosian are as good a place to look as any. His games need a great annotator to flesh them out. Clarke is up to the task: he is a truly great writer and annotator. Colin Crouch also is a great chess writer, and his study of Petrosian and Lasker, "How to Defend in Chess," is a masterpiece. This book by Clarke is, in my opinion, of monumental importance to chess literature.

I ordered this book shortly after deciding to begin a study of the great positional masters of chess. I decided to make Petrosian the first. In Petrosian's play one can find a wealth of positional understanding - dominating pawn structures, superior minor pieces, occupation and control of key squares, etc. Petrosian's games read like illustrative examples of how to successfully employ the elements of positional play from Aron Nimzowitsch's "My System".

Additionally, I was looking for a repertoire change. I had been a 1. e4 player for quite some time but in the open games that would often result I was ignoring the strategic demands of the position, instead focusing too much on attack to retain the initiative. I decided to switch to 1. d4 as white in order to study the closed and strategic positions which often result. Since the majority of Petrosian's games as white begin with 1. d4, his games seemed a good way to become grounded in this opening. In fact, of the sixty games, more than half have Petrosian as white opening (or transposing) with 1. d4. Outside of the 1. d4 forest one will find, among others, a handful of King's Indian Attacks, French Defenses, Caro-Kanns, and, of course, Sicilians in this collection.

Clarke's annotations are well matched to Petrosian's style of play. They are heavy on the verbal explanation of ideas as opposed to analysis of concrete variations - the ideas being more important in the closed games which often resulted from Petrosian's play. His comments are accessible, but never condescending, and on some occasions even humorous. Additionally, each chapter of five or six games is preceded by some information about Petrosian's career progression.

Some of my favorite games from this collection follow:

Game 7
Petrosian vs. I. Bondarevsky
Petrosian's superior pawn structure and piece placement force a near-zugzwang position in the middlegame.

Game 13
O. Troianescu vs. Petrosian
A double exchange sacrifice by Petrosian leads to a position of domination by Petrosian's two bishops. This is skillfully converted to an endgame advantage of a bishop and three pawns against a rook.

Game 16
Petrosian vs. A. Sokolsky
A great game showcasing Petrosian's ability to accumulate small positional advantages, eventually leading to a superior position.

Game 38
R. Fischer vs. Petrosian
This game is interesting if for nothing else than the fact that Petrosian, as black, manages to get his king all the way to b2 in order to escort his queens-side pawns up the board - all the while with white still having a queen, rook, and bishop on the board.

Game 42
Petrosian vs. W. Unzicker
Petrosian's middlegame strategy includes a king march to the queen side before the decisive breakthrough on the kingside. Interestingly enough, Petrosian had so limited his opponent's counterplay that he could only sit back and watch the realization of this plan.

Game 50
F. Olafsson vs. Petrosian
Petrosian maximizes the value of each of his pieces by a series of subtle moves before capitalizing on his positional advantages. This game is a great example of his legendary patience at the board.

One note which I think has been mentioned in other reviews: the book is written using descriptive notation. Don't let this be a deterrent though - I found that after a few hours I was almost as comfortable with descriptive as algebraic. Besides, descriptive notation somehow seems fitting for this game collection from 1946 to 1963 - before algebraic notation became popular.

I had really looked forward to working through this book and was a little disappointed when I finally finished with the last of the sixty well annotated games. So, instead of moving on to another game collection I just turned back to game one to review each again.

I read this book, in a translation to the portuguese, here in Brazil.About this subject, this book is concise, good and very easy to read.The best is when this book, talks about economies in World War II.The USA, to exemple, produced about 96,000 aircrafts in 1944.The biggest aircraft's production in human history.
The problem in this book is the lack of details about many battles and weapons used in World War II.

A very good study of World War II focusing on the strategic level of the war as well as its social and economi aspects. The reader will not find too many details about military operations, albeit there are some interesting points which are presented with exceptional clarity. The size of the book precludes any lengthy reference to particular battles, thus many of them are mentioned in only a few sentences or not at all (like the German campaign in the Balkans (1941), the liberation of Ukraine (1944), the battle of Berlin (1945) and the destruction of the Japanese Kwantug Army (1945)). This deficiency is balanced though by the wealth of statistics regarding production figures, human losses and economic data. Parker has also made a fine job analyzing the US-British relations on the strategic level, the reasons behind the decisions taken and the role of the USSR in the Allied camp. He is also honest about the great contribution of the Soviets to the war effort and the horrible destruction they caused to the German Army. Overall, a good introduction to World War II and a handy reference to its basic military and political dimensions.

One of the other Amazon reviewers of this book called it "concise and comprehensive." A great summary.

We have all heard or seen or read so much about WW2 that information overload is perhaps the main roadblock in seeing that conflict in perspective.

Parker's "Short History" is perhaps the best short history of World War Two targeting an educated adult audience. It's not a controversial or revisionist book but it does provide a great overview, introduction, refresher or review, depending on how you decide to use it.

It also avoids the common trap of providing an overly American or British centric narrative of what was, after all, a global war.

The book is very good. It analyzes the war and thus explains certain outcomes. However, because pages are spent on analysis, it could not cover the war in a wider scope. I personally prefer less analysis (I'll do that myself) and more on events, personalities, and scopes.

For serious students of the WWII era wishing to have a handy, concise, and yet quite comprehensive overview of the Second World War and its times by way of a one-volume effort, this is the book to start with. Unlike much more massive, detailed, and descriptive tomes such as Gerhard Weinberg's "A World At War", Sir Martin Gilbert's "The Second World War", or the new "A War To Be Won" by Murray and Millett, this book pares down the tremendous sweep and circumstances surrounding the war to a relatively brief (just over three hundred pages) and yet amazingly concise and comprehensive narrative. Indeed, Professors from Harvard to Stanford often assign this book for introductory courses on World War Two because it is both manageable and accurate.

Parker's narrative is informed by his matchless grasp of the relevant documents and official records as well as a unique feel for the way in which the various aspects of the conflict interweave and interact to create and sustain a worldwide conflagration. In his stirring and entertaining treatment, one finds a treasure trove of details, and at the same time also gains a better understanding of the way in which the economic, diplomatic, and military factors combine during the drift toward war in the late 1930s. In this sense the book is written with great verve and obvious historical impact.

Viewed in this way, the book can be considered a quite compact and yet still comprehensive overview of the war itself, how it began, its slow and horrific progress, and how it was both won by the Allies and lost by the Axis powers. Indeed, one comes away from the reading experience with a much improved and enhanced appreciation for the far-reaching impact the war had on humanity at large, since the war affected everyone, combatants, noncombatants, and onlookers alike. As Parker argues quite persuasively, the Second World War changed the course of the 20th century forever.

The author faithfully traces how the key events of the war progress, showing how the strategies of each of the participants as well as their indigenous populations and economies affect the course of the conflict. In looking at major battles and campaigns, Parker provides a wealth of insight that is disproportionately detailed compared to the length of the book, and provides the reader with a wonderfully informative, insightful, and entertaining reading experience. He discusses specific aspects of the war such as mobile warfare, the Holocaust, forced migration, and the use of the atomic bomb in a way that helps the reader to understand the importance of each and gives specific reasons as to how and why they occurred. This is a book that is easy to recommend to anyone wanting a relatively concise and yet immensely rewarding reading experience. Enjoy!

This book is remarkable, and so enlightening.
School books may or maynot cover certain historical
figures. This is a good way to learn for yourself
and check out the references and research on each
person. I've passed this book on to my Grandchildren
to learn and grow. Thank you.

Although this is old, it provides good insights about famous men of African Heritage

Cleopatra was of the Ptolemaic dynasty, therefore she was of Greek descent. The family was in-bred, brother wed sister. She was Greek, certainly not Egyptian (black).

I have owned both of these books for over 15 years. I have lectured at Harvard University, MIT, Umass Amherst, Amherst College and other places citing references from J.A. Rogers exhaustive research. He was greatly ahead of his time and any one of his books are worth their weight in gold. I am a self-taught historian and have been lecturing for 16 years now and consider J.A. Rogers' easy to read,informative style the best ever. He tells his readers about many Africans and others of African descent that achieved great feats while many Europeans were still in savagery. He discusses the first recorded Dr. Imhotep. Hatshepsut (Queen ruler who has a temple that still stands). Makeda, Clitus (General with Alexander the Great), King Taharqa (mentioned in the Bible) and many other great figures. I have all 14 of his books and would not trade one for a bar of gold. His research vastly improved my confidence in the achievement of Africans the world over that have been hidden from general knowledge for lifetimes. If anyone doubts the works of J.A. Rogers I would debate them any place using his research and embarrass you with the research you bring.

The great thing about his works are he just calmly states the facts without tearing any other race or civilization down. How many other works do that? Also with his vast research he could have berated many other races and civilizations, but chose not to waste his time and just stated the facts.

We all greatly benefit still from what he dedicated his life to!

The revisnist history, appears to come from ppl like this new orleans critic who doesnt know much about history or its remaining artifacts... The old kingdom and predynasty clearly shows so-called African negro's as the rulers of Egypt not the fantasy semitci nonsense born of 17th/18th western racist... As far as Cleopatra, there were quite a few Cleopatra's through different dynasty periods... of course one would know this if they cared to research properly... Also, Hannibal was always described as being a Afrikan... regardless of in mulatto traits... Its funny how europeans when they can't take Afrikans out of the area which would give us high regard, they must somehow convince others they would should be seen as sub-human, stock, negro, primitive, simple minded, etc... This is clearly white male dogma, since these particular white males are obviously suffering from a inferiority complex, [...] envy, etc.. which activates some defense mechanism within them as they can only see themselves in a competition with other males outside of their circles... Of course this also reflects on what most women desire as well... But, thats too obvious to point out...


Anyway, J.A. Rogers has done a excellent job of putting Afrikans back into the civilize arena where we belong... Of course any fool who would listen to the empty ramblings of angry insecure white males as being some say all authority of what is legit, needs a wake up call...


Notice that racism over a 2,000+ period has been the perpetration of white males or indo-aryans who try to justify such uncivilized behavior through their socio-political opinions, their empty spiritual system (religion), and psuedo-science of survival of the fittest... I guess the latter makes sense for these groups who have genetically undergone a mutated change do to hardship of having to survive with limited resources in areas that did not produce enough edible vegetation... Which led to heavy consumption of eating animals and stealing from others... a habit the europeans are still practicing... as a badge of honor... p.i

I think this book would interest a young reader that might want to be a writer. It has a lot of drama and has quite a few surprises. I think that the protagonist (Mel) is friendly and easy to like. The whole time you want her to win. There are many antagonists throughout the story, each one clever and mischievous. The antagonists make her stay in New York a little bit harder. I think this book was exciting and it made me think. Even though it made me think I understood what it meant and I had an opinion on what was going on in the story.

I finished this book in 2 days(during exams too!) it is so good that you wouldn't wanna miss it, I am half-way through the 2nd book and am planning to but whole series!

This book is very readable and it's oversized format and bright colors make it a very attractive book but . . . in the very first pages a 16 teen year old girl is drinking champagne on an airplane and talking to an older man she does not know.

I haven't finished this book yet, but I am halfway throught it and I already know it is the best book I hav ever read. I am so glad that there are 3 more books in the series, because if there were'nt any more, I would die!!!

I loved reading Flirt. I read this book in three days because it was so good. You better start reading it on riany day when you have lots of spare time, because after you read the first chapter your eyes get glued to the book and you can't stop reading it! Nicole Clarke is a wonderful writer and has a good way with words. If you are a girl who has nose for exitement then you should read this book. It is a master-piece!

Courtney C

For me, this book seemed to much like the Batman animated series. The stories were not very "dark" and they just didn't seem as hard edged as I would like a Batman story to be (or as the cover would lead you to beleive). The art in this book seems very average. Nothing special with that. A couple people die, there is some blood, and Batman appears to be a pretty good detective, but I just wasn't that impressed. I would recommend this book to a child between the ages of 8-10 or to someone who was a fan of the cartoon.

Dini has done it yet again! The mastermind behind Batman the Animated Series, Batman Beyond and even more famous DC animated shows takes his spellbinding writing to the next level in this intensely beautiful and interesting graphic novel. Not only are the stories filled with loads of twists and turns but the art by J.H. Williams III, another alumni of DC fame, delivers the characters you know and love with breathtaking art. This book will be worth the money and I'm sure you'll read more than once.

I AM A HUGE BATMAN FAN, THAT BEING SAID, I AM BIASED AS TO ANYTHING BATZ RELATED, BUT I AM ALWAYS WARY NO MATTER WHAT TOWARDS STORY(1st)& ART (2nd).
OVER THE YEARS, THERE HAVE BEEN BATMAN STORIES WITH A GREAT STORY WITH TERRIBLE ART, AND GREAT ART WITH TERRIBLE STORIES. THIS BOOK HAS GREAT STORIES AND GREAT ART...I'VE BEEN AWAY FROM COMICS FOR AWHILE NOW...I HAVE A HUGE BATMAN AND BATMAN FAMILY COLLECTION OF COMICS AND BOOKS, AFTER I SAW BATMAN BEGINS, I WAS SUCKED BACK IN AGAIN.

PAUL DINI ISNT THE SOLE WRITER IN THIS COLLECTION, AND THEIR IS MORE THAN 1 ARTIST CONTRIBUTING...BUT THE WHOLE MASS OF TALENT IS RESPONSIBLE FOR A GREAT ADDITION TO THE BATMAN MYTHOS.

CUDOS!!!

Having been a Batman fan for many years, I've found the Dini stories begun in the "Batman:Detective" collection refreshing. The stories return to Batman's sometimes overlooked role as the world's greatest detective.

These are stories, tales, intimate looks into the intellectual (and human?) side of Batman. Watch as he forms uneasy alliances with former foes . . . and former friends.

My favorite tale involves Batman and Zatanna teaming up to solve a case that brings about a deadly encounter with an unexpected foe. The plot weaves together a mystery with a touching story from Bruce Wayne's past. The image of Zatanna as a girl blowing magical bubbles, and its reappearance in Batman's mind during a certain scenario bring a chill.

The splash pages in between stories rivet me everytime - the black and white images bring out the most stunning emotions. If you like the artwork and the effects it brings to the stories, check out some of the "Batman: Black and White" collections.

This book does nicely on its own, but when you read it in conjunction with the "Detective" collection, it takes on a unique flavor that leaves you hungry for more.

This graphic contains Detective Comics #827-834 and follows the "Batman: Detective" graphic, also by Dini. The artwork is good, and it contains 4 standalones and 2 two-part storylines. Dini has continued his trend of incorporating old villains turned good, and putting interesting twists on previous villains.

In "Double Talk" Batman discovers Scarface is back from the dead (see "Face to Face" for details on Scarface's "death") and Scarface's new Ventriloquist. To Penguin's dismay, this discovery takes place in the newly revamped Iceburg Lounge.

"Shark Bite" involves Riddler, teaming up with Batman in his new role as detective to find out who killed an old friend of Bruce Wayne, and why.

The two-part "Siege" storyline makes buying this worthwhile by itself. Recent fans of Batman probably know that for a while, Bruce was become rather psycotic and utterly consumed by Batman, to the point of letting his relationships with his family suffer badly. More recent fans will know that Bruce lately adopted Tim Drake (see "Face to Face" for this storyline). "Siege" begins with Bruce attempting to broker a truce between the bickering heads of states of two unfriendly nations. Unfortunately, a suicide bomber decides to blow up Wayne Towers, leaving it up to Tim and Bruce to save the day, the heads of state, and themselves as well.

"Kind of Like Family" stars Harleen Quinzel, better known as Harlequin. She's doing her best to get parole through her good behavior when she's kidnapped from Arkham (yes, really) and drafted by the new Scarface to help him carry out a robbery. This one did a good job of showing how Harley has changed, and showing her as a person rather than Joker's giggling henchwench.

"Triage" was a fun detective story, with Batman using his sleuthing skills to hunt down the mysterious person apparently intent on killing off the Terrible Trio. The real twist was in who the would-be killer is.

"Trust" was perhaps my favorite of the lot. The two-parter has a magician whose assistant died during a stunt. Batman's investigations turn up a pattern of deaths or mutilations in the magician's latest shows, and so he calls in Zatanna. It's probably a good idea to read "Identity Crisis" before reading this, although you can follow along fairly well without it. Over the course of their investigation, Batman and Zatanna must face the lack of trust in their relationship, and decide if their friendship can withstand the harm Zatanna did to Batman.

Overall, good artwork, excellent stories, and a nice addition to anyone's Batman collection.

Simply put, this is a great example of how a young women has come to own her experiences instead of the other way around. Something we all need to learn how to do.

With haunting cover artwork suggestive of unsettling collusion between beauty, distortion and borderline insanity, at first glance this book is sure to capture the eye of a potential reader. However, the brevity of this chap (just 58 pages)makes it deceivingly appear as an easy and quick read. But straight from the start each poem in this compilation challenges and outright dares its reader not to reread it a second and possibly a third time.

From its introduction, the author invites her readers to accompany her as participants in a literary trek towards self discovery and personal healing. She craftily guides her readers on a panoramic, almost interactive tour of emotion, experiences and provoked responses.

"Behind the Smile", will give you over to the heated tensions between compromise and resolute commitment with poems such as "The Settlement" and "Autumn". It affirms the inherent value of Black Men and eases the pangs of self-doubt so often endured within them through poems like, "A Thing To Be Feared", "Belated Thank You", and "Face Value". And it equally dissolves you to compassion, while leaving you cradling a broken heart after ingesting the sobering tragedy of "Lost At Birth", a personal favorite of mine.

Whether or not you have a love For poetry, the poems in this book are destined to evoke a reaction in you, and you may well experience the sensation of having been stripped emotionally bare for reading it.

After taking up this chap, I was reminded of the adages "Big things (and Dynamite) come in small packages." The like can be said of "Behind the Smile" and its author. I highly recommend this poetic gem.

Poetry is not for everyone. Moreover, even for many who like it, it is an acquired taste. However, I would encourage all to read 'Behind the Smile.' This provocative collection of works challenges readers to peel back the layers of their own public face and appreciate the things that inspire, and hide behind, their own smiles. In the collection, readers will find works that speak to their personal joys and pains, provoke thought, and offer comfort.

It is a collection of "must reads" for poetry aficionados and non-aficionados alike.

T.S. Clarke had three poems that really touched me.

"Lost at Birth"...lets young girls know that some actions will create a re-action. Sometimes bad things can be fixed by a Higher Power.

"Belated Thank You"....made me take time to remember my father. I realized that he was the first man in my life. We shared many good times and loving moments. I still miss him.

"Face Value"...Reminds all the ladies that there are still some good men out there.

T.S. Clarke's collection of personal poetry-- BEHIND THE SMILE: A YOUNG WOMAN'S MADNESS-- is a captivating read. Almost a narrative yet not one at all, there is depth in its complexity. Its insight into one young person's journey of self-awareness is enhanced by its compelling imagery, yet there is a simple realism to its cadences and rhythym.

Her brief but pointed prose introduction sets the stage, as it were, for a series of titled poems, some long, some short, as the reader arrives at her self-described "stop on the road" of self-examination. In part it is framed by relationship poems like "Wing Song" (p. 2) and "The Settlement" (p. 54). These are, for the most part, her shorter poems, punchy and powerful. Others are remarkable creations delineating issues of race and African-American culture, such as "The Message" (pp. 13-14), "The Plea" (pp. 27-28), "Tribute" (pp. 32-33), "Black and White" (p. 34), "Recess" (p. 52), "Face Value" (p. 56) and "Stoopified" (pp. 57-58). These are, for the most part, her longer poems, replete with earthy cadences and deep detail. These require re-reading, can be hard to take at times, but are terrific as poems crafted to capture a moment, a sound, or an idea. Still, these do not always work. The least of these is "A Thing To Be Feared" (p. 51) which comes uncomfortably close to polemical prose (yet perhaps that was its intent).

My favorites are those poems which combine relationship imagery with something else: with culture-- "Belated Thank You" (p. 55);
with images of music and art as metaphor-- "Love of the Music" (p. 3), "Blues Man Play Me Something" (pp. 7-8), "Bodies on Canvas" (p. 9), and "The Musician" (pp. 35-36). These poems really sing, out loud, like hymns, but with an edge and insight which sculpts its own personal theology.

Most powerful (and perhaps most difficult) are the raw, realistic verses which deal with pregnancy and abortion: "Lost at Birth" (p. 6), "The Secret" (p. 15), "The Mistake" (p. 16).

This book is not for the faint of heart, but to a twenty-year old looking back on a worldly youth or a parent facing the challenges of a cryptic teen, these poems would certainly resonate.

The poet also gives the reader an insight into the creative proces-- "Americana" (pp. 4-5)-- and Clarke has an ear for dialogue (REAL dialogue) which elevates the mundane and the vulgar into a style of hard-hitting poetry which demands re-reading.

Yes, they are the works of a young poet, and today, a few years after writing them, she might approach the same themes differently, or she may have branched out into newer themes, more relevant to her world today. But BEHIND THE SMILE makes us wish for even more verses from the pen of T.S. Clarke.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Gave me an insight into what my ancestors went thru. Also gave me a couple of clues to follow as my Ashmore family was mentioned several times in this book.

"Early on a March morning in 1805, as the first hints of dawn touched the Sea Islands and the marshlands south of Savannah, Old Jupiter rose, went out of his cabin, and with a blast from his conch-shell horn announced a new day." With this first sentence of Dwelling Place: A Plantation Epic, I was captivated by the history of three generations of families- plantation owners and slaves- in Liberty County, Georgia.

The author of this Pulitzer-nominated book has thoroughly researched and beautifully written this true story, which reads like a novel. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, especially when I had an hour or two to read it without interruption. The story moves the reader through the inter-weaving history of families on several plantations in the Georgia low country, and takes place from Darien and Midway, Georgia, to Savannah, Atlanta, Marietta and Roswell, Georgia. The book occurs from 1805 through the end of the Civil War, with the end of a way of life for the plantation owners and the dawn of a new freedom for the slaves.

I particularly enjoyed the parts of the book that describe how people lived on Georgia low country plantations in the early to the mid-19th century. The book describes how plantation houses were built and farms and rice were cultivated, the role of Christianity and the conversion of plantation owners and slaves, how meals were prepared, the horrors of slave families being sold and split up in front of the courthouse in Riceboro, Georgia, how slaves lived and the secret paths they took from plantation to plantation, and the often symbiotic relationship among the plantation owners and the slaves.

At times the various characters and families can be difficult to follow, and the author's inclusion of family trees and a brief description of the principal characters in the appendices make it easier to follow. A map at the beginning of the book of Midway and the surrounding plantations is also useful. The narrative part of the book is only 465 pages; the rest of the book is appendices and endnotes. I whole-heartedly recommend this book to any person who loves history.

This is the most impacting, and disturbing, book I've read in the past year. I found myself identifying strongly with Charles Colcock Jones, an extremely sincere evangelical Christian who thought of himself as utterly consecrated in service to God, and who was held in high regard by the evangelical community of the South. Through Clarke's detailed and highly documented narrative, I was able to understand how his understanding of slavery was gradually warped through several factors: 1) compromise with the viewpoints of his peers, 2) cultural difficulties with the slaves, 3) losing sight of the ends by concentrating on the means, and 4) by being a beneficiary of the status quo.

It's easy to think of slaveowners as sadistic monsters with no shred of humanity. It's more difficult for people of our time to imagine themselves as slaveowners. Dwelling Place accomplished that for me. Charles Colcock Jones was not the typical slaveowner, but he was one that evangelicals might identify with. More than that, he had a spirituality and a heart of service that many evangelicals might ASPIRE to.

Contrary to another reviewer, I did appreciate Clarke's attempts to infer the viewpoint of the slaves, though because of their illiteracy there is infinitely less documentation of their thoughts. Perhaps some of his inferences are off-target, but to not make an attempt at representing the slaves' point of view would be to leave out an equally important part of the story. Many of the African-American characters were developed as multi-dimensional compelling actors in the drama.

I also appreciated the number of characters described, both white and black, because they comprise the very intricate and dynamic context which produced Jones's mindset, so analagous to the context which Americans find themselves in our time.

It was to my surprise that I discovered the existence of the remarkable Reverend Mister Charles Colcock Jones, 1804-1863, of whom, even through my years of historical studies, I had never heard. It was first via this book, Dwelling Place, and later through another, The Children of Pride, that I became aware of Jones, his extended family, and their place in both the religious life of antebellum America, and of their significant contribution in the form of letters and first-hand accounts, to some further measure of understanding low country life in the decades before the 1860's war destroyed that culture.

Let me say that the author of Dwelling Place, Erskine Clarke, is a gifted researcher, writer, and interpreter of the American past. He has crafted a book certain, if there is fairness among scholars, to stand through time as the definitive reference on its subject matter. I also say while I understand religion was the Reverend Jones' vocation, that I found Dwelling Place to be far more compelling as an investigation into the lives of planters and their slaves than I did its primary theme of chronicling the career of an influential Christian cleric. As such, I was engrossed in the first hundred pages, but soon found myself slightly less captivated by the constant reflections on Jones' considerable evangelism: in large part among the non-Caucasian populace.

As a sort of expose on the realities of life as a black and as a white in coastal Georgia in the early and mid nineteenth-century, I know of no finer work. As a study on the life of Jones, on religion in his time and place, again, this book is preeminent. It's simply true that speaking for myself, had it strayed a little less far from its initial subject matter, southern plantations and their inhabitants, I would have enjoyed it even more.

In Dwelling Place, Erskine Clarke expands the chronological range of a notable series of letters--published in 1972 by Yale as Children of Pride--to write a history of the extended Jones family of nineteenth-century coastal Georgia, as well as the families of their "people," their slaves.

This is a good book but not a great one. Clarke writes well enough, though his attempt to be novelistic by foreshadowing the future often seems forced. Clarke does significant service by emphasizing how important life events for southern slaveholders--marriages, deaths, and removal to distant locations--could often have disastrous effects on slave families, many of whom were torn apart by separations so final that slave spouses were treated as if they were dead to one another.

Nevertheless, Dwelling Place has significant weaknesses. First, Clarke's chronological sweep, which takes the reader from 1805 to 1869, scoops up too many characters, many of whom are tangential to the main story as told through the lives of Charles and Mary Colcock Jones. Clarke provides helpful biographical notes and elaborate genealogical charts, but it's doubtful that any but the most persistent reader can keep all the characters straight.

Second, although Clarke tries to put as much weight on slave existence as on the life of the masters, he is faced with a conundrum that exercises every historian who tries to write antebellum history from "the bottom up," that is, that the poor are frequently illiterate and therefore virtually inarticulate. Furthermore, lower class existence is repetitive and usually has small effect on the course of history. Sea island cuisine cannot hold its weight against the coming of the Civil War, which (in passing) Clarke slights.

A more serious weakness is Clarke's repeated attempts to read the minds of the slaves in ways that satisfy twenty-first century taste. For instance, Cato, a driver for Charles Colcock Jones, says in a letter (written for him by a plantation manager) that he felt "like crying with love and gratitude" for such "a kind master." Clarke can't leave this letter without suggesting that slaves understood that "successful revolution only `grows out of the barrel of a gun,' and that slaves lacked the necessary firepower and military organization to challenge white hegemony."

Maybe, maybe not. I have never been a slave, but I was a draftee infantryman during the Vietnam era and one definitely unsuited to military life. A historian who tried to guess how I felt about being pulled away from school to prepare to kill people would probably go far astray. Frustration and fear were mingled with patriotism and pride in my new (but definitely limited) military prowess. My calculated desire to shirk as much work and responsibility as possible was combined with a determination to accomplish my mission to the best of my ability. We do not have to adopt the Gone-with-the-Wind mentality about plantation slavery to believe that slaves were sometimes sincerely devoted to their masters and to the religious faith that they shared. They were not always hypocritical when they spoke words later romanticized by purveyors of the Lost Cause.

Although I recommend Dwelling Place, the more sophisticated reader (especially one who has a taste for big books) should read Children of Pride instead. In that massive volume the reader can approach the remarkably articulate Jones family on its own terms and calculate its conflicted feelings about slavery without twenty-first century intervention.