Cross Books

This is the first time that I have ever wrote a review for a book. This book truly inspired me. I read the book in 1 day and could not put it down. Hard to believe that this is Beverly's first Indigo romance. She did an outstanding job!!! Even my husband was interested in reading the book. Now that's a first.

After finally finding this book I was glad that I did. This was a true love story. It was so different than most of the stories that I have read because the main character was blind. Augusta was a real strong person and when she fell in love with Todd there were true sparks and passion.

Miss Clark did a very good job researching the information for this book. I enjoyed learning as I was reading.

The ending is very surprising, you will not want to put this book down so you can see what happens next. I read this book within 2 days and enjoyed every minute of it.

I truly enjoyed this story and it was well done by Ms. Clark. The research that she puts into the storyline leaves the reader feeling the pain Augusta must endure and the painful guilt that the Hero must experience. To not give the subject of the plot away, you will find at the end the full awareness of the subject matter and the growing deep love that was developed between this couple. If you like Beverly Clark's work check out her other two books: A Love To Cherish and The Price of Love.

I read this book two years ago and couldn't put it down. I'm not the type who loves to read a lot of books. But I know a good book when I read one. This book is "must read". I let a friend read this book & I've never received it back. I'm here to purchase the book again & give you all my opinion. Take my word & purchase this book. You will definitely enjoy this Awesome story.

I read this book in a matter of three days. I just couldn't put it down! I loved the way that Todd cared so much for Augusta, despite her blindness. The ending is a real surprise, so I won't give it away. The love between them is nothing short of tried and true.

The most comprehensive guide available for anyone interested in skiing the best of the California peaks. This book will seduce the timid into a world of adventure and outdoor recreation previously thought to be for the "Big Boys" only. The experienced skier and snowboarder will appreciate the breadth of information available in one source. You'll scrunch this one into your backpack along with your topo map. Mr. Richins' writing style flows easily. His excitement for the subject will capture your outdoor spirit. His vast experience will give you the confidence and trust you need in a guide (and this guide will fit in your backpack).

Mr. Richins book is a veritable treasure-trove of information. From well researched check-lists to clear descriptions of everything from how to get to the trailhead to routes on the peaks; this book covers it all! Mr. Richins love of the Sierra Nevada shines through these pages. He invites his readers to share his love of the winter Sierra and imparts knowledge that makes it possible for expert and novice alike to enjoy these mountains. History of the Sierra Nevada is woven in throughout the book, creating an interestng counterpoint to the climbing routes. A must for the backpack on winter trips in the Sierras! Something to read by headlamp on those long nights in the tent!

The most comprehensive guide available for anyone interested in skiing the best of the California peaks. This book will seduce the timid into a world of adventure and outdoor recreation previously thought to be for the "Big Boys" only. The experienced skier and snowboarder will appreciate the breadth of information available in one source. You'll scrunch this one into your backpack along with your topo map. Mr. Richins' writing style flows easily. His excitement for the subject will capture your outdoor spirit. His vast experience will give you the confidence and trust you need in a guide (and this guide will fit in your backpack).

Having recently purchased Paul Richins book, ³50 Classic Backcountry Ski and Snowboard Summits in California,² I was very impressed. Like all books published by ³The Mountaineers,² it is nothing but First Class in every way. Mr. Richins has gone out of his way to provide the rest of us with a gem which will lead one to enjoy the fantastic world of the winter Sierra.

Even if one is nothing more than an arm chair cross country skier they would find this book highly enjoyable and enlightening reading. For the more adventuresome person, Mr. Richins book would be their ultimate guide to a world of adventure. The pictures, the writing, the maps are all five star. The little extras that Mr. Richins has added throughout the book, such as writings of John Muir, and others, adds the spice to this delightful book.

Mr. Richins, since he has obviously researched, personally , all 50 of the peaks listed in his guide, has been able to make a very reliable summary of each peak, from Intermediate, Advance, to Expert. This would easily allow me to select a challenge within my ability and, along with the excellent guide of the book, make winter trips I would have never thought possible.

If you are planning a winter/spring backcountry trip and want accurate, detailed information on routes, terrain, and level of difficulty for some of the best skiing/snowboarding terrain in California than this is the perfect book. The book is well organized, clearly written and beautifully illustrated. Everytime I pick up the book I find myself mentally planning new trips and plotting descent routes on the photographs. An added plus to the book is the wealth of information that it contains on preparing for a backcountry experience. The author covers everything from avalanche danger to equipment to bring on an extended trip. He even includes an excellent website for those who want more information. There always is a question in my mind when I read any backcountry guide about the accuracy of the information. Who wants to set out on a trip only to find out that the route maps or the descriptions don't match the terrain? The author is someone with extensive backcountry experience who has done each of the 50 trips described in the book at least once. We all sould be so lucky! Having taken two trips with the author that are detailed in the book, I can say that he did an excellent job of describing the routes and the terrain. If you are someone who is looking for backcountry ski/snowbaording adventure, this book will make your trip planning a whole lot easier. Enjoy

This book showed me that I dont have to live in LA or New York to get into acting. Also It gave me alot of helpful hints on all aspects in landing a role.

After reading this book, I couldn't stop shaking my head. I kept thinking to myself...why didn't I have this book years ago?? At first, I thought that there wasn't anything this book could teach me...I'm already an actor. Boy, was I wrong. If only someone had written this years ago, I could saved myself a lot of wasted auditions.

As an aspiring actor, I have taken many years of acting classes but always had a problem auditioning and nailing the part. Catrine McGregor's book made so much sense that everything really clicked into place. She covers every detail of the acting business from auditioning to unions. So many other books I've read contained facts but this book gives you clear, concise directions, examples, exercises, and the real inside scoop from an experienced casting director's point of view. my co-actors use it as a reference guide, too. I highly recommend it!!

A clear and concise guide to becomming a member of the acting community.A no bull map!A must for the neophyet actor caught in the maze of conflicting advise.

For so long the shelves of any given bookstore have been crammed with books claiming to be "the book that every actor needs", but yet they read like a foreign language and don't give the information an actor really needs for his or her big break. Ms. McGregor has broken through that barrier and released a book that spells out many of the details actors need to know about acting and the audition process. Intelligent and informative, the book is packed with everything an actor/actress could possibley need! A must for anyone trying to break into the business.

I love this book! All of the alphabets and samplers are beautiful, and you are sure to find the perfect project whether you are creating a gift for someone special or looking for something to brighten up an area of your home.

Also, the author gives lots of ideas for finishing the projects, along with plenty of color photos to give you ideas. She gives recommended colors, using DMC, but also includes a chart which compares DMC to other commonly used floss brands. The photos also show several of the alphabets or samplers done up in colors different from the ones in the chart, so there is plenty of leeway for your own creativity. I definitely recommend this book, especially for beginners.

This book was a checkout from my local library and after bringing it home and viewing it I was enthralled with every page! I knew that I would be referring to it many times over so instead of rechecking it out at the library numerous times I decided to buy the book.It has so many nice patterns for the beginner and the advanced cross stitcher.The only problem is trying to decide which one I want to stitch first!I have been doing cross stitching for many years and this is the first book that has everything imaginable to stitch!

This book is beautiful -- it could almost double as a coffee table book! The projects are suitable for all sorts of occasions and are all easily customizable. I highly recommend this book to any cross-stitcher, regardless of skill level -- it could keep you busy for the next two years!

There are color photos of each design, black and white charts, a stitch directory, instructions and finishing techniques. The 15 alphabets include: traditional, floral, Assisi, lower case and Victorian. There is a conversion chart of DMC to Anchor. The 40 designs in this book are inspiring and I am always looking for alphabets to stitch.

Original, well explained and a great source of inspiration! One wants to start stitching immediately, and looks for any excuse to do so.

It isn't often that a novel manages to encapsulate both the current and the classic---to exist in the present alongside echoes of the past. Jack Engelhard's The Bathsheba Deadline is a notable member of this rare species.

On one hand, a scintillating love triangle based on the biblical story of King David, Uriah and the beautiful and desirable Bathsheba, The Bathsheba Deadline is also a clever and wonderfully perceptive look at contemporary journalism and the post-9/11 political backdrop.

Indeed, political junkies looking for fiction straight out of the headlines need look no further. Engelhard captures a country, and a world, caught up in conflict and haunted by the specter of the unknown. It is a time in which the modern and the ancient all too often collide.

Engelhard also captures the crucial role of journalism amongst it all. The setting for the novel is a fictional daily newspaper called The Manhattan Independent and the lead characters are its managing editor, book editor, and a reporter. As they grapple with news cycles, deadlines, internal power plays, and shifting ethics, it's clear that Engelhard, who has years of newspaper experience under his belt, knows of what he speaks.

Nonetheless, the new media looms large and Engelhard is clearly taking the pulse of the future. He gives credit to the growing influence of online journalism and the blogosphere, or, what he accurately labels in the novel, "Bypass Journalism."

Online journalism is, in fact, starting to supercede the mainstream media and Engelhard knows it. Given that he himself is an accomplished online columnist, his observations are right on the money.

So too is the way in which he weaves fictional characters with real life figures from the world of online journalism. Being a member of the latter group, I was pleasantly surprised to find myself a recurring character, of sorts, in The Bathsheba Deadline. Various fellow travelers in the new media also make appearances in the novel's pages.

But the book has much more to offer than journalism or politics. Filled with romance, sex, witty banter, philosophical reminiscences, heart stopping thrills, a no-nonsense (and, I might add, sexy) lead man and an ever-alluring femme fatale, The Bathsheba Deadline is an entertaining ride.

It's the kind of novel I found myself nodding in knowing agreement and smiling or sighing in shared sentiment throughout. Beyond the great characters, the elegant writing, and the charming slices of life, it touched on so many issues that I found personally and politically relevant that I couldn't help but be drawn in.

And I have no doubt others will do the same.

**This review appears as the book's Foreword.

In his novel, THE BATHSHEBA DEADLINE, Jack Engelhard has crisply, brilliantly reflected our deadly world in its ugliest, dirtiest descents. Yet the novel's varied moods shift regularly into a barely perceived, underlying beauty, seeming to refract darkly, through a war-cracked looking-glass. Using a simple, yet subtly-sophisticated syntax, this author voices deeply-rhythm-ed Songs of Israel, back-dropped by the relentless clacking of dedicated Underwoods.

"Phil Crawford was easy to dislike, which is probably why I liked him.... Maybe I didn't like him all that much, but he was okay. We had our differences, politically."

I'm not merely impressed, but in awe, of how many threads of vital issues Engelhard has woven and mirrored in BATHSHEBA... right-now politics; media foibles and "facts"; deadly-dangerous, romantic roller-coaster rides; political correctness spotlighted in hypocrisy and lack of glory; spiritual moments dawned in the ebony richness of potential doom...

Yet the weave is not too tight. It allows spaces for contemplation between color contrasts; it allows repetition of subplots to prevent unraveling of wayward strings.

The result is a kaleidoscopic tapestry of an engrossing tale which should be terrifying and depressing by content, yet which gives an incredible amount of hope, because of, rather than in spite of, Jay Garfield's last line, which is as exquisitely honest as it is inevitable. Loved that line, though my favorite line was of political incorrectness gone right, from Jay to Lyla, "Can't you stop being a girl for a minute?" I wanted to stand up and cheer.

A favorite plot twist was Jay's Muslim friend's wife breaking out in compassion to Jay, "Allah be with you." THEE favorite plot twist was a Muslim acting rightly to save Jay's bacon, no fuel intended! My favorite exposure was not a Northern one; it was the "going South" of the dark sides of religion and politics, as they enact the power and purpose to sink humanity in one tar glob, into the black holes of anti-life, where falsehoods are sold as truth. (That tar would not be aligned with environmental mania's attempts to discard industrial waste; it would be the byproduct of philosophical idiocy burned balsamic into goo.)

Every word in this novel, alone and by its placement within phrase, syntax, paragraphing... speaks of literary power, full-on and brilliant. The reader receives those searing spotlights willingly (actually he begins craving them). This reception occurs within a strange type of comfort, within what could ironically be called light entertainment. I see this light touch as essential, since what the author is exposing through Jay is a world, now and through history, which should be irrevocably hopeless.

Engelhard's composing style, and gentle use of constant contrast ("This, but that, too") seem to serve as a continual release of the bondage of powerlessness... a bondage which sometimes arrives from setting in concrete a belief or stand, before the time has come to do so. As Garfield says, a true prophet always knows what time it is. Jay comes to his time at the right moment.

I believe Engelhard could accomplish this release for readers through fiction or through his type of journalism, as he chose. In this wholeness of effect Jack Engelhard has transcended the literary greats (who too often begin and end with nothing beyond eloquently detailed depression).

This transcendence comes through a painting in words of the elemental forms of profanity and powerlessness.

This transcendence comes within a syntactic paradigm of a not overdone, barely-there sense of hope for redemption, a sense of joy in the power of a soul connected to the Height of Good...

(... even if that good is way up there somewhere, barely reachable beyond ozone layers and holes in the Universe, beyond the broadest rainbow... yes it was a HUMAN who stole the ONLY pot of gold... and it wasn't John Galt!)

For me, the most potent segment of this novel is Jay's journey to, and short stay in Jerusalem, where he sinks into the physically dark, spiritually enduring events and ambiance there. In that pilgrimage, this novel's power explodes and implodes. An uncanny dynamic balance comes to catharsis through a scene in a motel room in the middle of the night:

... the sense of a presence... the shadowed, mirrored image of a tall, thin, bearded man... the gifting, discovery, and working into acceptance of The Blessed Cane.

That scene had the seated feel of being lifted from a lucid dream Engelhard may have had, around which he may have written this book. The actual dream there served as a quantum kernel of hope, seeded within the essence of horror.

The motel room sequence felt like touching a spiritual force, delicately but absolutely, like touching a purity of potency which is not limited to any religion, book, or viewpoint, possibly not to be as easily found in any of those, as through the individual soul of each human being. It was so very appropriate that Jay would touch that through his father's heritage, sharing it from that paradigm. Icons of religious trappings, talismans, and traditions exude a mesmerizing magic. These can be good, as can an un-tethered soul in solitary search.

After contemplating the Jerusalem sequence in the middle of night, I clarified what I saw in connection to this novel, in a puzzling vision of red votive candles, which I had after reading the first part of the book. This novel subtly nurtures a type of hope I felt in my youth, from red-votive-candles flickering in church at night. I felt a clean, quiet sense of rightness to come. As I felt that subtle connection to BATHSHEBA, doubts flared, discounting the feeling and votive candle parallel:

Why would an image from my Catholic past intrude on a novel with Jewish spiritual symbolism (which has always fascinated me). Yes, Garfield's mother was Catholic; his father Jewish. But that joined contrast wasn't woven into BATHSHEBA'S plot or subplot tapestry...

It was after reading the scene of the Rabbi-Blessed-Cane, that I realized the link of the cane to the candle. I was sparked to visualize those images artistically overlapped in a painting of spirit-in-oils which might do justice to this novel's holy moment. I couldn't hold the symbols within the same visual, tactual space. They needed to be kept separate to avoid breaking down a reality, a reality which is working both those icons, and more like them, from different spiritual kaleidoscopes. Yet, I wanted to see them together.

I can recreate my vision of the votive flickering... or I can call up Jay's vision of the shadowed presence in the mirror (felt like a rabbi from higher realms), and the cane.

The red-votive flickers gave a welcome memory of my few times as a child going alone to the church at night, sitting in a middle pew on the right, breathing the presence, focusing the candle collections, always lit. Sometimes I would kneel by the candles and pay my coins to the box, then watch the flame I had lit, for a long, peaceful time. I enjoyed being in the church alone at night much more than I enjoyed the Masses with their Holy Words (they were supposed to be holy, were to me then, but I don't quite see some of the meanings that way now) voiced, read, and prayed, among the day's light and crowds.

The above doesn't begin to hint what this novel draws to consciousness, even on the spiritual tumbles of the kaleidoscopic tapestry of BATHSHEBA. Then there are the political, journalistic, romantic...

Buy and read the book! See how this wealth of global microcosms works into a story of high entertainment, possibly better than any other book you've read, with more truth exposed than you'll know what to do with. Months will go by; you'll reflect on these scenes and schemes, and you'll know.

With confidence I say that Jack Engelhard expertly manages the medium of the novel, as he does journalism and op-eds. He is an Nth degree, mastered professional of the effective use of the writer's voice.

With greatest respect for those among us who walk with words,

Linda Shelnutt

Shelnutt is the author of several Kindle books, including MYRTLE'S ULTIMATE MYSTERY; including The Books of Gem: THE ROSE AND THE PYRAMID, FULL MOON RISING, NEW MOON BLUES, QUARTER MOON DUES; including in Amazon Shorts a serialized novel, MORNING COMES The Pre Dawn Blues (Book 2 in The Books of Gem), and a Visceral History series of short true stories featuring the mining industry in a small town in Colorado.

I enjoyed Linda Shelnutt's story about her husband at the breakfast table. That's been my experience as well...at each sitting, I was unable to put The Bathsheba Deadline: An Original Novel down until I had read at least twelve-fifteen chapters. It's that good....it's better. TIMELY, TIMELESS, FAST-PACED, TRAGIC, CONTROVERSIAL TRIUMPHANT...ITS ALL OF THOSE AND MORE BESIDES.

Thank goodness for self-publishing...the traditional New York houses would NEVER let this one see the light of day.

The characters are entertaining, authentic, larger than life yet so very human. Jack draws on his years of experience as a journalist to recreate the excitement, forbidden desire,ambition and backstabbing of the newsroom of the MANHATTAN INDEPENDANT [circulation close to half a million]. The story combines the fast-paced Manhattan scene and the terrorist-infested world in which we live here and now with the ageless story of fatal attraction between a tough,if pleasantly self-critical, successful man and tough, successful, gorgeous woman.

In the background throughout are several subplots spinning their way to masterful conclusion....all as seen and told through the eyes and agendas of truly first-rate characters, from the protagonist Jay Garfield, the zealous and sad Sam Cleaver, through the 100% all American Arab Jimmy Smokes and the scheming Peter Brand to the unfathomable,nutty and fatally-charming Lyla Crawford. BATHSHEBA DEADLINE is the story of something unusual and exciting for most readers, a newspaper in the thick of controversy, yet something as timeless as a steamy love-triangle...a love triangle in which the two willing members may have a way of getting rid of the third.

Jack Engelhard has another classic here...a controversial politico-romantic thriller of the first water. Beautifully populated with great characters and a story line, as Cinnamon Stillwell writes, "right out of the headlines"...and the Bible. Five Stars! John W. Cassell

John W. Cassell is the author of six novels on the American Counterculture of the 1960's-1970's and a politico-military thriller: Uncertain Paradise: 1973

I thought reporters all wore fedoras as they sat smoking Old Golds at their Underwoods. Jack Engelhard, who knows the newspaper game inside and out gives us a fascinating peek into a modern newsroom.

At the same time....reading this book I could almost skip reading the morning paper. The story line reads like the headlines of today.

Really good...really entertaining.

Critic Letha Hadady called this book "A towering literary achievement." I expected to read something special. And was I DELIGHTED to find it! Jack Engelhard's Bathsheba Deadline reads like a classic, but it contains current news, personalities, and even popular Internet columnists that keep things hopping. The main players are Jay Garfield, chief editor of The Manhattan Independent, the unlikely hero, a newspaper man of the old school. Lyla is his lover. She is brainy, busty--a dame who is a book critic. Her husband, Phil, is a born-again converted to Islam. They make an eternal triangle that involves us all in a web of suspense and current day headlines.

Reading Bathsheba Deadline is like enjoying a good cigar and brandy with your feet on the desk after a long day. You become part of a satisfying film noire. But who are the John Garfield and Lana Turner who can play these exciting movie roles today? You have to read the book: Their love, hate, guilt and retribution keep you glued until the very end. The Bathsheba Deadline cuts through the layer cake of what it is to be human - from angel to animal. We are left breathless. Bravo for a sterling work.

The second part in the Black Cross/Red Star series focus on the air war between january - june 1942, perhaps the least know phase of the entire air war on the eastern front.

Knowledge of the air war on the eastern front has always been scarce in the west, and has mostly been influenced by the german point of view. This is a unfortunate result of the cold war, when access to soviet sources was almost nonexistant. But the cold war is over, and the soviet archives are slowly being opened for western scholars.

This book is full of interesting information about the equipment, aircraft, tactics and pilot training of the Luftwaffe and the V-VS (Voyenno-Vozdushnye Sily, Soviet Military Airforce. The included glossary is excellent!), not to mention the excellent photos and aircraft profiles.

Among the interesting information in this book are accounts of the V-VS and Luftwaffe activity during the soviet winter offensive, the airlifts at Kholm and Demyansk (with some very interesting observations the german leadership ought to have studied closer), the soviet attempt to resupply the trapped Second Assault Army at Lyuban and the air campain against Sevastopol.

The authors tries to give an impartial account on the events from the views of both sides, and I think they accomplish this task well. Few books on the war on the eastern front are so unbiased, and I have read many.

For the student of the air war in the east this book is necessary, as air, as bread.

I originally ordered this book in August, but delays in shipping prevented it from arriving in my hands until recently. Let me say that the wait is all the more frustrating because this is a wonderful book!

Volume 2 of Black Cross / Red Star retains the written quality of Christer Bergstrom and Andrey Mikhailov, but adds aviation color profiles done by such notables as Claes Sundin and Tom Tullis. Those in the aviation community are familiar with their excellent work.

When I reviewed Volume 1, I made comments about the quality of the maps and photos. The authors and publisher listened to reader feedback and made the necessary corrections. The maps are outstanding! No blurring and all place names are readable. This greatly assists the reader when following the myriad of battles on the Eastern Front.

The strength of Black Cross / Red Star has always been the team of Bergstrom and Mikhailov. They intermix dates, times, persons and events with first-person accounts by all protagonists. Using this formula, the numbers and facts are given a human face. Joy, triumph, sorrow and pain all lie beneath all military statistics. For every victor there is a defeated foe. The reader learns about them in their own words from diaries and interviews.

Every day, surviving veterans pass on. Books like Black Cross / Red Star will soon be the only resource by which they will be remembered.

I highly recommend this book to anyone with even a sprinkling of interest in historical aviation.

Looking at BC/RS as a series, the overwhelming weight of reviewers rate it 5-stars. I heartily agree. The authors are gifted, analyzing the multiple factors relevant to combat and battle outcomes, then expressing their findings in an easily readable way.

The text is authoritative. To see where they got such a boggling mix of information, check the back of the book: their "Sources" fill more than 4 pages. Their approach is even-handed, it relies on facts to give an unvarnished view of true history.

Events are organized by Eastern Front combat zones with the focus on how air battles affected the outcome of major battles. As with Volume 1, the authors continue to illuminate new material and go on to dig into reasons why. A prime example is their thought-provoking chapter on the Demyansk pocket airlift.

Throughout the text, outstanding pilots of both sides get recognition for their exploits and often enough the worthy but lesser knowns also get their due.

In one respect, volume 2 improves on its predecessor -- illustrations. Photos are better. Also, fresh, hi-quality profile art of representative aircraft is abundant. Captions often add interesting detail.

A brief review can not capture all the strengths of this work which breaks new ground and does it so well. I've tried to avoid being redundant with other reviewers and recommend that interested buyers also check into other comments, including those for Volume 1.

LIKE SO MANY OF THE OTHER REVIEWS, THE QUALITY OF THE INFORMATION IN THIS BOOK IS SUPERB; HOWEVER, AFTER REVIEWING 17 COPIES FROM VARIOUS SOURCES, I HAVE CONCLUDED THAT THE PHYSICAL PRODUCTION IS ONE OF THE POOREST I HAVE EVER SEEN. FOLDED AND CREASED PAGES PROIR TO THE PRINTING AND SMEARED PRINTING INK ON NUMEROUS PAGES LOWER THE QUALITY AND VALUE OF THIS BOOK. FOR THOSE WISHING TO COLLECT THIS SERIES: BLACK CROSS/RED STAR, VOLUME II WAS A GREAT DISAPPOINTMENT COMPARED TO VOLUME I.

IF A CLEAN COPY OF VOLUME II DOES EXIST , I WOULD BE MOST INTERESTED IN PURCHASING IT, SO AS TO ADD IT TO MY COLLECTION OF VOLUME I.

THIS SERIES IS AN AMAZING WORK OF LITURATURE, AND HOPEFULLY, PRODUCTION OF THE REMANINING VOLUMES WILL NOT ENCOUNTER SUCH POOR WORKMANSHIP.

HANK PUSICH, hank_pusich2000@yahoo.com

Looking at BC/RS as a series, the overwhelming weight of reviewers rate it 5-stars. I heartily agree. The authors are gifted, analyzing the multiple factors relevant to combat and battle outcomes, then expressing their findings in an easily readable way.

The text is authoritative. To see where they got such a boggling mix of information, check the back of the book: their "Sources" fill more than 4 pages. Their approach is even-handed, it relies on facts to give an unvarnished view of true history.

Events are organized by Eastern Front combat zones with the focus on how air battles affected the outcome of major battles. As with Volume 1, the authors continue to illuminate new material and go on to dig into reasons why. A prime example is their thought-provoking chapter on the Demyansk pocket airlift.

Throughout the text, outstanding pilots of both sides get recognition for their exploits and often enough the worthy but lesser knowns also get their due.

In one respect, volume 2 improves on its predecessor -- illustrations. Photos are better. Also, fresh, hi-quality profile art of representative aircraft is abundant. Captions often add interesting detail.

A brief review can not capture all the strengths of this work which breaks new ground and does it so well. I've tried to avoid being redundant with other reviewers and recommend that interested buyers also check into other comments, including those for Volume 1.

I received this book as a birthday gift along with Celtic Art In Cross Stitch by Barbara Hammet. Although both are good, I can tell already that this one is going to be the source of many more projects. There are nearly 70 designs in this book, most very adaptable to a variety of uses. Phillipson provides a refreshingly wide variety of designs, not just a few variations on a few primary themes, plus a wide variety of ideas for utilizing them -- and they're all stunningly beautiful and well-done. There's a wide range of color variations between projects, and the colors chosen for individual projects are very appropriate, both historically and aesthetically, for their motifs. She also provides plenty of detailed tips and interesting background information on where the designs originated. All in all, this is an excellent book, and I'm definitely going to get a great deal of use out of it!

I've received this book from Amazon only a few days ago but I am already copying one of the projects.
I find this book to be very useful and interesting: the patterns are original, not repetitive and they are fully explained. Each of them comes with explanation about what kind of colour to use (a useful conversion table among different brands of cotton is printed at the end of the book), how many stitches it is in width and length, the overall dimension and a lot of useful information to start your project immediately and correctly.
Quick information about how to x stitch is provided at the beginning of the book so, in my opinion, it is a good deal also for total beginners.
I am very glad of my choice and I think I will copy a lot of patterns from this book.

To me, this book came as an esthetic relief. Tired of flowers, I was thrilled to discover elegant minimalism of this book. All designs are tastefull and come accompanied with a discription of where the design came from - helmets, scabbards,torques. It includes apstract borders and small images for stitching where you please, along with several more complicated images of celtic animals, human faces and such, that look marvellous when framed. Recommended for beginners (charts are in color and easy to read) and for more experienced stitchers because this collection is far from dull.

This is a book for both the cross stitch beginner as well as more experienced stitchers looking for inspiration. There is a lovely mix of simple motifs, as well as more challenging pieces inspired by the Book of Kells.

The book is a delight to leaf through, and many of the designs (especially the knotwork) lend themselves to other projects. For example: I've worked a number of the knots (in silk on linen) as bookmarks for gifts.

Highly recommended.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

Carol Phillipson has put together a wonderful book full of craft ideas. Her patterns are based on many different examples of Celtic art. While you will find knotwork and other borders here, you'll also find animal forms, an illuminated alphabet and various unexpected designs taken from jewelry, manuscripts and stonework. Phillipson includes several ideas for the use of each pattern, as well as giving the reader an idea where the pattern came from. All in all, a delightful, as well as useful, book for any stitcher.

In many ways my husband and I miss the 80's. We liked the music, the fashion and the way people were concerned with simple things like hygiene and attractive clothing. This book took us back to those happy carefree teenage years when things were good and we were nearly completely free of responsibility!! As we went through this book we had many good laughs and had fun remembering things long forgotten! I recommend this book if you liked the 80's and I recommend reading it with at least one other person who enjoyed that era! Fun book!

This book was as much fun as a barrel of smurfs...required reading for those of us with a Dukes of Hazard lunch box and a Battlestar Galactica sleeping bag in the closet...awaken the Chachi within!

This book was better than 'Cats' - great trip down memory lane for any Gen X'er - makes the 80s seem rich with culture.

If you ignore the book's ugly-as-sin cover artwork and delve into this maniacal volume of absolutely useless yet totally vital pop cultural information, you will be proud to say: "I am a member of the Chachi Generation." Buy it and love it.

The book is essestial for anyone who came of age in the 1980's. Though many consider it a forgettable decade, for those of us who grew up during those years, it's great to have a refresher course on things that we considered to be so important at the time. And where else are you going to find an entry on the brilliant, yet short lived series, "Manimal?"

I've been a fan of Rawlings since I first read her as a teenager. Reading her biography many years ago, I learned of her pride in her cooking. I didn't even know she'd issued a cookbook until I came across this edition!

Upon reading the book I was immediately reminded of the "Alice B. Toklas" cookbook. The structure and literary emphasis are much the same. Thus, for the same reason, it's a joy to read even if one doesn't cook!

However, like "Toklas", the recipes are also a treasure. Many of the recipes contain ingredients too exotic for the average cook, but many more are easily prepared. This can also be a pleasurable and valuable resource for those, like me, who enjoy reading and preparing recipes from old cookbooks. Our eating styles have changed enormously in the nearly sixty years since Rawlings wrote this book.

If you are a fan of Rawlings, buy the book whether you ever plan to cook any of its recipes. Its reasonable cost is a further bonus!

It is evident from her cookbook that Marjorie tasted of nearly everything and learned to make delicious dishes out of some very odd things: Poke Weed (on toast), Pot Roast of Bear, Smother-Fried Squirrel, Gopher Stew, Coot Surprise, Jugged Rabbit, a host of Pilaus, and an infamous blackbird pie. Of course this book is not simply a culinary freak-show. There are dozens of recipes for desserts, seafood, meats-found-at-the-A&P, jams, and soups, featuring ingredients of which we are all familiar and unafraid. She was proud to share them and claimed each recipe was nothing short of first-rate. Included among these is her piece de resistance, Crab A La Newburg, and the best Strawberry Shortcake ever. Accompanied by anecdotes of Florida rural living in the 1930s and 1940s, this book is a delight and an excursion from a mundane kitchen

As the other reviewer has mentioned, this is a collection of recipes, filled with anecdotes of central Florida life in the 1930s and 1940s. The recipes are fantastic and one wants to try all of them (although it may be difficult to prepare alligator-tail steak). And, what a pleasure it is to read a cookbook written by an accomplished author. You just keep picking it up.

A great read... both for the recipes and for a large dose of Marjorie Rawlings' folksy humor. Loved it from cover to cover.

A big fan of MKR, I stumbled over this little book at a booksale several years ago----it's paperback and coming apart from use, and the pure pleasure of reading Ms. Rawlings' commentary and recollections of living at Cross Creek. Her biscuit and hoe-cake recipes are worth the price, as they evoked memories of my grandmothers kitchen where it wasn't a meal without fresh, hot bread.
Highly recommended---even if you're not a cook!

As I read Jesus' responses to his critics and Randy's explications of Jesus' words, I had one overwhelming sentiment: look at Jesus go! I've read few books that so humorously and beautifully present the unending utility of Jesus' message.

He got right to my core. I'm inspired to be a better Christian now. Thanks Randy.

Randy Singer has written a compelling book on apologetics that both educates and entertains.

This book is a worthwhile read for skeptics and believers both. Those who are already followers of Christ will find some interesting perspectives on several issues. Those who are not believers will be challenged in numerous ways. Singer presents lots of evidence in the life and words of Jesus. In chapter four, he makes a very strong case for the resurrection of Christ.

He has an absolutely brilliant analysis of Jesus' interactions with the pharisees and scribes and how amazing his responses were. He looks at these from a trial lawyer's perspective. He talks about how the Pharisees 'hurled the most volatile questions possible at the most dangerous witness of all time without knowing what the answer might be.'

Like an unskilled attorney who asks a witness questions without knowing the answers, the Pharisees often asked questions that backfired on them. Some of the responses from Christ that are examined by Singer are whether or not it was lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, who one's neighbor is, and the woman caught in adultery and whether or not she should be stoned.

I highly recommend this book and also suggest that readers get the companion book, 'The Cross Examination of Oliver Finney.'

Randy Singer has seen the inside of many a courtroom as a trial lawyer. In fact, over the last few years, he's translated that experience into some of the best legal thrillers around. This time, he pulls out all the stops and delivers a novel and a nonfiction work that go hand-in-hand, providing evidence of Jesus for his jury, the readers. Although the books can be read independently, they are connected by a set of codes and ciphers which, if broken, can lead the codebreaker on a free trip for two to sunny shores. No joke. See details in the back of the books.

Sounds like a gimmick, right? A clever one. A wish-I'd-thought-of-that premise. But a gimmick nonetheless, sure to draw many, and dissuade a few, from reading the book(s).

Let me put your mind at ease. These books are worth reading, each on their own. "The Cross Examination of Oliver Finney" is entertaining, thought-provoking, and brilliant in its use of the codes. It deals with contestants on a reality TV series, representatives of major religions who must prove the validity of their faith through a number of tests. But not everything is as it seems, and one of them may end up being a martyr for the cause.

As for "The Cross Examination of Jesus Christ," does it stand on its own? Does it give courtroom-type evidence of Jesus' claims and resurrection?

I cannot tell you, a fellow juror, what to think. In my own careful deliberation, I found this to be Singer's tightest, most passionate prose yet. He uses facts and logic, Scripture and history, to guide us toward a desired verdict. He plays on our intellects, while also pulling at our emotions with personal confessions and moments of humor. Most stirringly, he strips away the religious veneer and reveals the true heart of Jesus.

While this book may not sway every staunch nonbeliever, it will certainly raise questions in many minds. In the end, faith is still based on things not seen. And, as in the courtroom, a juror might cast a vote on the trustworthiness of the primary witness. In this particular trial, Jesus Christ is as trustworthy as they come.

As a long-time student of the Bible, I was impressed by Singer's ability to demonstrate the astute logic Jesus used in quieting his most vociferous and vocal critics, the Pharisees. The chapter "What's Your Sign?" in which the author presents a sterling defense for the resurrection of Christ as historical fact (and as documented in Scripture) is worth the price of the book alone.

Ok, let's face it. Let's get down to it once and for all. Quit wading through the crap, right? You didn't exactly ask for this, did you? No, but you got it. So deal with it! HUH? You are none other than Octavian, and like everybody else, you have a choice to make about this Jesus. Better yet, "What is Truth?" That isn't too easy to swallow, is it? Take a breath. Now, read on. If you're anything like me, you'll want to see what happens in Randy's other work, "The Cross Examination of Oliver Finney" because this plays a key role in that as well. NOW... read on.

If this were to be a boxing ring, your head will be snapped back a few times. Then when you think something so simple as, "That's it?"... Whack whack! BOOM!! You'll be sprawled out on the canvas, slumping to merely get up! What's so funny about that analogy is that Jesus did that to the stinkin' scribes and Pharisees, and He did it in (GULP) LOVE! Yeah! He took their mess, he put up with their crap. Then he gave it back to them with more to think about than just the toilet paper to clean it up with. Randy Singer amazed me once again with some really good stuff. Jesus taking the 5th Amendment? C'mon! Yep, and it makes sense. The insert in this asks if we'd just love to ask Jesus Christ a few questions. And we're not just talking some Fiddler on the Roof (do you love me) questions either. Oh yeah, I've got questions. Then it kills you sometimes when you realize that He doesn't always explain Himself. Is He even obligated? Read this and find out. Look at BOTH sides of the coin. Better yet, look at the way Jesus takes on the Pharisees! This was great. But better yet, look at the way He might take on you. He'll do it in love, don't worry.

Think of this as a box seat ticket. Don't expect it to be a parade of roses, but expect to be challenged. WELL, OK! Expect to be challenged if you can step out of your comfort zone. Take off the Dr. Scholls and strap on the Nikes. Even allow yourself to meditate on this. Apply it to your life. Take the teachings of this Galilean, see if they make sense. An awesome challenge that Randy makes is that we should be prepared to engage the skeptics of our age! Can you do that? My verdict is that Jesus is King of Kings and Lord of Lords!!! I'm not exactly one who is worthy to say that, but He's worthy of the praise. I came away from this convicted, because I know I put Him on that cross. But I, like the Apostle Paul, know Who I believe in. I am persuaded that He is able. And if I had the gavel, I'd slam that sucker down in reassurance!! Thank you, Randy Singer!