Dean Books

All these stories are top drawer. You know the few socko stories that one finds in most anthologies? Well, each story in this anthology is top of the line. There are no mediocre or marginally acceptable tales in this book. Amazing!

The stories remind me of early Bradbury and some of the best of the original twilight zone stories. Remember some stories that you just had to tell people they must read (e.g., like Joe Lansdale's "Godzilla's Twelve-Step Program"), well these stories are it! I plan on rereading these, and I've only reread 5 stories so far in my life! That's how good they are! WOW!

Ed Gorman is the most underrated writer of the last 20 years.
Although admired by writers like Dean Koontz, Gorman's work is leagues apart from the formula and routine of ultra commercial stuff of King's clones.He is an extraordinarily prolific romancist but his best work can be found in the short story form.
Although Gorman is an american original his influences can be traced.
His deceptively simple style is a highly original blend of
Bradbury's poetry and nostalgia, Rod Serling's Twilight Zone humanism, King's local colour, the raw nihilistic energy of classic hardboiled writers like Dashiell Hammet and Mickey Spillaine and the "Gorman touch". His plots are tight but his real strenght resides in his masterful characterizations; Gorman's characters are common people "trying to strike a kind of weary bargain with the world", in his own words.
All Gorman's collections are uniformly excellent but I think that Moonchasers and Other Stories is the most eccletic and representative of his short works.The title novella is a little masterpiece of nostalgia, not unlike Bradbury's short works of 40`s and 50`s and King's novella The Body.
Ed Gorman is a master of the form and deserves a major audience.


MOONCHASERS AND OTHER STORIES:

Moonchasers ============================ *****
Turn Away ============================== ****
Seasons of the Heart =================== ***1/2
En Famille ============================= ****1/2
Mother Darkness ======================== ****
The Beast in the Woods ================= ****1/2
One of Those Days, One of Those Nights = ****
Surrogate ============================== ***1/2
The Reason Why ========================= ****1/2
The Ugly File ========================== ****1/2
Friends ================================ **1/2
Bless us O Lord ======================== ****
Stalker ================================ *****
The Wind from Midnight ================= ***1/2
Prisoners ============================== ****1/2
Render Unto Caesar ===================== ****
Out There in the Darkness ============== *****

My first Ed Goman. I can't understand why he's not more popular, even considering Koontz's afterward wehre he points to one reason why. These stories are fantastic and engrossing. Moonchasers and Out in the Dark are the two that shine. All of them have at least something to do with the darkness of humanity, from pedophilia to suicide, to murder. Very moving at times as well. I highly recommend to fans of dark literature.

Ed Gorman is one of the main reasons I am an insomniac. Several years ago, he and a couple of fellow thugs persuaded me to try an anthology. My meat and potatoes are novels, but I soon found a gourmet?s delight in short stories so that I spend several nights reading a tale or two from a collection.

Mr. Gorman?s latest anthology exclusively includes only tales written by him. That alone guarantees that each story is top gun material. MOONCHASERS AND OTHER STORIES contains the title novella along with sixteen superior short stories, and an afterward by Koontz. Each story is well written and makes for exciting mystery reading. Especially superb are ?Moonchaser? with its teenagers and bank robber friendship theme and ?Turn Away?, which the audience will never turn away from finishing, but the other tales are also fun. The guru of short story mysteries has done it to me again by leaving me sleepless in crime fiction with another winning collection.

Harriet Klausner

The funiest book I have read in years. If you liked The Mouse That Roared you will love this one.

Moonlight Bowl Manifesto is a bit wacky, a little wicked and lots fun. Barbara Jones dissects contemporary California society with wit and humor. When the bowling team 'kidnaps' the chi chi California crowd, chuckles and even belly laughs are inescapable. A wonderful read--thought provoking in the best tradition of well written satire.

This book registers 7.5 on the laughter Richter Scale. Ms. Jones' talent for satire is brilliantly displayed in her first work, Moonlight Bowl Manifesto. She not only skewers the stereotypical Californian, but the rest of us-reviving us with large doses of common sense and kindness. What a funny, subtle, wise dissection of our society this is!

In "Moonlight Bowl Manifesto: A Cure for California," Barbara Jones has fashioned a wild satirical romp over social and political correctness. When a member of a bowling team comes up with an instant wood-eating formula, the bowlers hold hostage an auditorium filled with famous people by threatening to destroy a forest, particularly a famous tree called General Sherman. The book is filled with memorable characters, such as a woman who believes her pig is the reincarnation of her dead husband, and a lawyer who has to share her body with Margaret Mitchell and a hippie. Among the other strange folks is a celebrity who has to take medication to lighten his skin and maintain his feminine characteristics, until his privileges are taken away and strange things begin to happen to his mind and body. A fun read, one that won the 2000 Georgia Author of the Year Award for First Novel.

I read the Mr Galliano's Circus books over and over as a child (they were my favourite Enid Blyton series along with the Faraway Tree) and recently tracked down some second hand copies on ebay to read to my daughter. She was equally fascinated with the stories which are told from the point of view of Jimmy an English boy who joins the circus with his family. I recently read a biography of Enid Blyton which said she originally conceived wrote a version of this book as an adult book but noone would publish it so she subseqently rewrote it as a children's book. i think this is evident in the fact that the adult characters are much more developed in this book than in other Enid Blyton books and there are plenty of allusions to adult-type concerns (eg, Jimmy's father's unemployment and the family's poverty etc).

As a child in Guyana, Enid Blyton was a staple on my reading list. I remember, fondly, days curled up in a corner with Mr. Twiddle or Mr. Meddle, Mr. Pinkwhistle, The Secret Seven, Famous Five... the list can go on. I loved Enid Blyton. Reading Enid Blyton books stimulated my imagination and took me on countless journeys to far-away, magical places. I highly recommend Enid Blyton books as required reading for any child who enjoys the written word. This author is, in my humble opinion, the BEST CHILDREN'S WRITER OF ALL TIME.

A favourite of mine for many years, this, the first of Enid Blyton's Circus series deserves to go back into print! Adventure, danger, a cast of fun characters, friendship and the realisation of that dream we've all had at one time, of running away to join the circus!

It's sad this book is out-of-print. Of all books, Enid Blyton loved to write about her circus series. Jimmy Brown is an everyday boy, going to school, etc. UNTIL Dad becomes carpenter for big-shot Galliano's Circus. Mum worries that this isn't the right thing for Jimmy, but somehow the two convince her it is. Jimmy has already gotten to know the circus folk - Jeminma the silly monkey, Lilliput, a small thing of a man, and my favorite - the curly-haired, temperamental Lotta. And so what could go wrong? This series just tells you all the things that go on in a circus when it's not playing. A must-read to circus lovers or - Enid Blyton lovers!

Hal White has produced an excellent book of impossible crime/locked room fiction. He could be the next John Dickson Carr, and that's saying a mouthful.

If you like knotty problems solved by an engaging amateur sleuth, THE MYSTERIES OF REVEREND DEAN is the book for you. The price is right -- in fact, considering the complexities of the plots, the price is low. It's well worth the cost.

(By the way, if you would like to read a more detailed summary of Hal's book, go over to the GADetection Wiki where another review is archived.)

Hal White's book is exciting indeed! He has publically announced his intention of reviving an eclipsed genre, the impossible crime associated with John Dickson Carr and G K Chesterton among others. The Chesterton parallel is even stronger in that White has invented a series detective who, like Chesterton's Father Brown, is also a cleric. In fact the book is published by a Christian publishing house, though the Reverend Dean is retired and anyhow strangely unaffiliated; his theology is murky, but one hardly ever feels it intrusive. Dean solves cases in his little town in the Pacific Northwest, Dark Pine, two hours outside of Seattle, a setting that affords some nice lonesome chills.

Right now Thaddeus Dean is primarily a collection of quirks that don't really amount to an actual character. Said quirks include ownership of a monstrous St Bernard, "Puppadawg," missing his late wife Emma, gone now these three years, addiction to strong coffee, reading paperbacks in a special steam shower cabinet which swells up the books three times their size, parking at WalMart as far from the entrance as possible. He also explodes when obliged to get up earlier than 10:00 a.m. In short, he's cranky and humorless, and in future books might reap the benefit of fewer eccentricities, just like Ariadne Oliver's Sven Hjerson and his vegetarianism. Childless himself, Dean feels a paternal warmth towards a police detective, Mark Small; while a favorite niece, Susan, makes an early, puzzling appearance in the Dean saga. (Puzzling because she's set up to play a part in the stories that follow, yet she disappears and Dean never mentions her nor thinks of her again.) MURDER AT AN ISLAND MANSION shows Hal White's strengths and weaknesses in equal measure. Vicki Calais contacts Reverend Dean to express her horror that, one by one, everyone in her family is being slaughtered by impossible means--each one different. The set-ups are rich in atmosphere, the crimes themselves baffling, and Dean's deductions amazing yet fairly clued. And yet White has set himself up by limiting his suspects to only a handful (actually two) that we know who the killer is right away, particularly when the suspect is known to have mastered a particular field of activity back in high school. Giveaway! Dickson Carr was always doing that in his novels, where among a thousand other details one particular detail might go unnoticed (that is, if Tim was known to throw his voice at high school parties, you know Tim's the one responsible for the current murder and that somehow ventriloquism links into it) but in a short story, the jig's up as soon as the high school propensity is mentioned.

In MURDER ON THE FOURTH FLOOR, a demented wife takes a potshot at her husband from a fourth floor window--or did she? When the building is searched, she is nowhere to be found. Again the murderer has got to be exactly you would think, while White stumbles trying to reproduce the speech patterns of a young urban black witness--it's a painful page or two, but no real harm done. MURDER ON A CARIBBEAN CRUISE is like White's version of Agatha Christie's A CARIBBEAN MYSTERY, in which Miss Marple was sent as a charity gesture by her family to enjoy the hot sands and steel drums of a distant island. It's such a different atmosphere for Reverend Dean, far away from the preferred Northwest climate, and the crime he investigates seems particularly gruesome, with a touch of "Cabin B-14" to it as well. MURDER AT THE LORD'S TABLE may strike some as tasteless, particularly from a Christian publisher, for after you read the murder method you realize that for Hal White literally nothing IS sacred, but it's a good story nevertheless. (This is the one where the proofreading comically falls apart when Reverend Dean suffers "duel blows," instead of what I assume were supposed to be "dual blows.") In MURDER IN A SEALED LOFT, Mark Small once again calls upon the aged Reverend for assistance, in a case where a painter is found stabbed in her studio completely locked in from the inside! There are some great deductions in here involving frozen red blood cells and even I, far from a biologist, could understand and even anticipate, thanks to White's careful and fair presentation of the evidence. In MURDER AT THE FALL FESTIVAL, Reverend Dean confronts a bizarre murder apparently committed while a band of his helpers are preparing the annual Halloween party he founded way back when. George Weston is found inside a garage with only two entrances or exits--a walkway and the sort of door you always see in garages, big and massive and moving up and down. In this case Dean has to prove himself to Mark's boss, Detective Tom Michaels, one of the few men in Dark Pine who don't believe Dean walks on water (sic). Needless to say, Dean passes with flying colors, and then solves the case in an astounding series of deductions that will have you looking at your cigar case and pondering just how long and cylindrical and heat-bearing it is. This one has a solution that will make strong men literally blanch. THE MYSTERIES OF REVEREND DEAN is a marvelous debut, and I only hope that White considers putting Reverend Dean at the center of the action in a mystery novel next.

An exquisite collection of short stories - a must read for anyone who loves hard to solve couldntadunit whodunits, well developed characters, and beautiful vividly painted settings, often at an unspecified location near contemporary Seattle.

Meet an observent, people-loving Reverened emeritus of nonspecific demonination who has a penchant for asking revealing questions about odd events. Follow his line of questioning - deduce away!

The octogenarian Dean is a marvelous, fully dimensioned creation, and the stories...the stories!...wonderful impossible crime tales! Don't miss "Murder at an Island Mansion," "Murder from the Fourth Floor," "Murder on a Caribbean Cruise," "Murder at the Lord's Table," "Murder in a Sealed Loft," and "Murder at the Fall Festival." And the Christian theological content, though very sound, is not intrusive. Long may this remarkable sleuth flourish.

Dean Mahin, in his book One War at a time, examines Abraham Lincoln's involvement in the diplomatic efforts of his secretary of state, William H. Seward. Mahin makes an intriguing claim at the outset of his book - that the policies of the Lincoln administration were largely responsible for maintaining the neutrality of both Britain and France, as Lincoln and his secretary of state William Seward "successfully used the threat of war with the United States to prevent European recognition of Confederate Independence..." Mahin evaluates American diplomacy through the lens of multiple diplomatic crises in an effort to support his thesis. Unfortunately, he does a poor job of demonstrating that the efforts of the Americans had such a significant impact as to prevent either the British or the French from recognizing the Confederacy. Instead, he merely proves that Lincoln's government was often focused on conciliation instead of threatening war. Rather than carefully analyzing the evidence, Mahin tends to focus on the details of the story, which makes for an intriguing read, but not an overly compelling one. The Trent incident, in which an American captain flagrantly violated international law by stopping a neutral vessel outside of territorial waters and seizing two passengers, nearly resulted in a British declaration of war on America. Mahin fails to explain how Lincoln was able to turn this concern into a British fear of war - instead, Mahin says, Lincoln was concerned about how to escape the incident without a loss of national dignity and writes a conciliatory letter to the British government to avoid hostilities.

All told, this was a very entertaining & informational book. I would highly recommend it to anyone looking for a broad basic history of international relations during the American Civil War from an American perspective (as opposed to a foreign point of view). However, the thesis presented at the outset of the book is not as well defended as I think it should be.

"One War at a Time: The International Dimensions of the American Civil War" sounds a bit pretentious at first glance. However, author Dean B. Mahin met the challenge he laid out for himself by writing one of most comprehensive accounts of Civil War foreign policy ever published. Any reader, novice or expert, will gain fresh understanding of our international policy in that era and a new appreciation of Abraham Lincoln's role in development and execution of that policy. This important book addresses a dimension of the Civil War that has been sorely neglected in the literature that tends to focus on battles and individual leaders. New ground is broken by the author who contends that Lincoln was deeply involved in foreign policy while other historians have often minimized his role. Mr. Mahin is well equipped to tread on this ground because his well researched book reflects the authors' insights gleaned from his forty years of service with Federal agencies including the Department of State and the U. S. Agency for International Development. His research led him to diplomatic correspondence, diaries, letters and speeches and these amply footnoted references support his contention that Lincoln conducted a diplomatic balancing act in his dealing with foreign powers, especially England and France. In particular he deals in depth with French intervention in Mexico and how this was countered. Lincoln's axiom of fighting one war at a time is the unifying theme in these discussions. Further Mahin brings an insightful writing style that lends new understanding to subjects that have been covered by other authors such as the "Trent Crisis" and the "Alabama Claims." His chapter titled "Cotton is King" provides an outstanding summary of Confederate finance, diplomacy and trade of this important commodity. In short, this is a "must-read" book for those who wish to enlarge their understanding of the international dimensions of the Civil War.

Battles and Leaders is the mold for Civil War history, what we expect and want. The 3 Fs, fronts, flanks and feints coupled with leaders fill almost all of our books. Politics is limited to the problems Lincoln or Davis have with the states and congress. International relations are limited to the Trent, Maximilian and the Ironclad Rams. This limited treatment works equally well in the nineteenth century as today.

This book is devoted to international relations during the war. Great Britain is the major player, the most troublesome and interesting. France follows Great Britain except for the Mexico adventure. The balance of Europe is not that important to the story but is well covered.

In 1860, Great Britain and American were not close allies. Memories of the revolution and war of 1812 were fresh for veterans and their children. Additionally, America was starting to challenge British supremacy both economically and politically. Seeing two nations where one had been would have slowed or even stopped this challenge. Popular democracy was not a popular idea with the "ruling class" in Britain. The CSA, in spite of slavery, was closer to their idea of how things should be than the universal white male suffrage of the USA. The emerging middle class and the working class admired the USA and were anti-slavery. This forced Palmerston to walk a thin line as he tried to keep from becoming entangled in a class conflict amid a cotton famine.

The author does an excellent job of introducing the major players, their positions and reasoning. In addition, we get the physical limits of trans-Atlantic communication in the world of 1860. This helps us understand the mis-information problem that caused so many problems.

Chapters on the Trent, the Alabama and the ironclad rams detail the inner workings of both governments. All of this plays out against Lincoln's "one war at a time" policy and British fear of American expansion into Canada. The chapter on Canada is one of the best in the book, providing a complete explanation of each side's position and fears.

British blockade-runners, neutrality and the Union blockade are a book length story. The chapter devoted to this subject gives us an impressive amount of statistics and food for thought. The author concludes and supports the idea that British support of block-runners added months to the war by preventing a logistic collapse of the CSA. Union efforts to force Britain to curtail this meet with almost no support. It simply was not in their best interest and they refused to help. However, this did not stop them from publicly deploring the war and the suffering it caused.

French activities in Mexico and their attempts to support the Confederacy form an interesting sideshow. However, their efforts in Mexico and the on going civil war this caused created sever problems for Lincoln as he walked a thin line considering his historic support of Mexico.

The general European chapter quickly tours the continent, giving us an overview of the major nation's attitude toward the USA and CSA. The majority of the monarchies were not in favor of rebellion and had strong anti-slavery populations. This curtailed any idea of support for the Confederacy but did not translate into support for the Union.

The CSA international effort centers on Great Britain and France but includes Mexico and the British colonies in the Bahamas. All of these efforts fail; the why and how makes a good story and is fully documented. The effort was much larger than it seems but suffered from a number of problems. To often the wrong man gets the job. It is questionable if the CSA had the right man for the job or even if the Union had the right man. The critique of Adams, Lincoln and Steward is at odds with many histories but very well supported.

Overall, this is a very strong, well-written history of international relations during the Civil War. While it will not answer the questions about how close war or recognition came, it will provide food for thought on these subjects.

Well out of the 30 odd books I have read in the last 2 years on the Civil War and politics leading up to the war, this was one of the better books.
It shows Lincoln as an able player in foreign relations that he was.
The style of writing, and the fact that each chapter deals with an almost different topic, makes the book for a very good read. There is no getting bogged down with this book, and this book should end up on you not finished list.
When I about about 1/2 through the book I was already looking to see what about books this author had written.

This was the first thing I got after I bought the rulebook. and its great, I unlike many, am very new to rpg's in general, but armed with the rulebook, the many novels i read, and this book, I am already taking on storytelling myself. It gives detailed information and tips for the storyteller, including ideas and strategies to accomodate changes you wish to make yourself and some alternate routes to have in case you players get a little off track. one of the stories, the Succubus club, is great, as it is possible to take place in any city, and can include those party members who choose to be some of the clans that are not usually in the plot. as they can be guests at the club.
all in all great read... i almost want to stop reading so i could play it myself.

This book is a combination of 5 seperate stories about events that are happening in the current years. The stories include the death of Baba Yaga, return of the succubus club and even a Kuei-jin interaction story between them and the kindred. I definately recommend the book. You seriously can't go wrong if you are a story teller or a wanna be. Best of all they also provide sweet sections on extra sub-stories to be added and how it can be handled. Sub-stories include the way the assamites broke the curse, the way Salout and Tremere interact for clan control and even the way camirella took back New York plus more.

Simply put....I really liked the book.

This supplement for VtM offers five very relevant game adventures. Two stories deal with two relatively new toys in the World of Darkness- the Kindred of the East and the Hunters. Another gives the players' characters front row seats for the destruction of Baba Yaga. There is a free form night club story which might be a good way to generate ideas for how things should go after the big realignment of the East Coast cities. Yet another story is set in the Sabbat city of Montreal and updates that setting- one of my favorites. Las Vegas and San Francisco are also developed in the Hunters and Kuei-jin stories respectively. I haven't playtested any of this material but it looks very, very good.

The section innocuously titled "Introduction" is a real gem. This deals with something called the "metaplot"- the overarching storyline of the World of Darkness. (The CLAN NOVEL series is based on the metaplot and so are THE TRANSYLVANIA CHRONICLES.) It discusses several important developments- the current problems facing the Assamite and Ravnos clans, the destruction of the Tremere antitribu (including some insights about the whole Tremere-Saulot thing) and gives a blow by blow on the Fall of New York to the Camarilla. You need to read this if you want to keep up at all.

A good thing about this is that alternate possible scenarios are frequently offered- different reasons why things are happening, for example. This book also backs off somewhat at a couple points from insisting that any player characters of certain clans would have to be destroyed in certain situations. The metaplot described here also diverges in small ways from what was described in the CLAN NOVEL series (so far) and in the TRANSYLVANIA CHRONICLES. There's a certain fuzziness in which there's plenty of room for storytellers to make their own decisions. I hope no one takes it into his or her head to fix that.

A word about this whole metaplot thing. When official game materials declare even one important storyteller character destroyed or give even a small glimpse of an Antedeluvian's machinations, it can go a long way in terms impact on existing storyteller chronicles. I'm currently really enjoying the metaplot but I can see that there's going to be a limit. Right now, I've got enough ideas from it to last me a couple lifetimes and it's great. At some point, though, anxiety about taking my chronicle in a direction that turns out to be at odds with furture developments in the metaplot is either going to get very inhibiting or I'm going to end up saying "to heck with the metaplot". In general the more open-ended, supportive way the metaplot was handled in this book was very encouraging.

This book is great! It tells you whats up with the kindred in the nights of impending Gehenna.I don't want to ruin it for you, but it's a great sourcebook for storytellers who want to keep up with the current setting of the game. A must have for vampire enthusiasts.

This is a great book for animal lovers, but also those who might have grown up on a dusty farm in OK. It deals with the experiences that make a nine year old girl grow up. The descriptions are vivid, the emotions heartfelt, and the result is a great story.

This book is great. Through her words she makes you feel her pain and all of the emotions she is going through. This book isn't JUST for animal lovers but for anyone. It really touched my heart because of the attachment I have to my own dog, and past dogs. I would recomend this book to everyone and every age. I would also recomend her book "Angels in Disguise" it is just as good, if not better!

If you are someone who likes good reading, someone who loves animals and a fresh approach to how they touch our hearts! Then Lou Deans' book "Paw Prints In My Soul", is just your ticket. A book that is great for kids and adults alike. So, dig out the hankies, find your slippers and a fuzzy blanket, make it a time to remember as this is a book you'll never forget.

i loved this book, i really enjoyed reading a book with so much compassion to the animals in her life that i could also relate. i would recommend "my dog skip" if you enjoyed this book.

I was introduced to Pete recently and was lucky enough to be in Myrtle Beach SC where an exhibition of "Pete" (oh yeah, and that guy who paints him!) were on display at the local Art Museum. Bought the book and now plan on buying a copy for everyone I know. Whether you like cats (black or otherwise) Pete will find a way to make you smile, laugh, and maybe contemplate the world around you with a whole new set of eyes... Enjoy the book and then get ready to clear some wall space for the art it introduces to you!

Anyone who has a cat will love this book. Pete-the-cat is a little blue guy who will work his way into your heart immediately. Also great for lovers of art, as Pete is found in many of the masters. This makes a great gift too!

We are perhaps two of Pete's (and James') greatest fans. We were introduced to Pete the Cat from a friend in Athens Georgia, and while attending UGA (go Dawgs (sorry Pete) we purchased a number of Pete the Cat items from various galleries in the area.

On Saturday May 5th, 2007 while day tripping in New Orleans from Jackson Mississippi (where we now live), we stumbled on Mr. James Dean painting his latest and greatest creation of Pete. I bought a copy of his book, my wife's Mom bought my wife a copy of "Psychiatry Pete" for her as she is a professional in the field. Mr. Dean mentioned selling 3 copies in Atlanta (ours is number 4) the weekend prior. I jokingly mentioned that it was probably a friend of ours. Sure enough it was. The morale.......once Pete gets his claws in you, they are in for life, furthermore Pete is everywhere.

Now on with the book.......I LOVE IT.....it shows all the misadventures of Pete, and also all the rest of the pictures we have still to buy.
Personal favorite? Creation.

An artistic delight for anyone with a sense of whimsey. It's a must for cat fans and for students of art who like to see how an artist develops his style over the years. Dean also reinterprets great art--such as the Mona Lisa, holding Pete the Cat, or the famous Abbey Road picture of the Beatles, who are trailed by....yes, Pete the Cat. Love it!

Confronted with war, famine and tragedy, so many of us feel powerless. We want to help, but don't know how or where, and fear we have neither time nor resources.

Morsh, who directs one of the country's largest relief agencies, insists that everyone has something to give, and that we can all do something. Here, he shows us how, in simple ways. Uplifting, encouraging and inspiring.

I really enjoyed reading this book. The Authors did a great job of telling these amazing stories. I have heard of the organization that Dr. Morsch started and of all the great things they have done. I would encourage everyone who feels like there is something missing in their life or anyone that is searching for lifes meaning to read this. There really is power that comes from serving others.

This book has inspired me to take action in serving others.
Many times I have good intentions, but do not follow through with action. Recently when I mowed my lawn I noticed that my neighbors grass was extremely long and needed to be mowed. She is a widow and I just felt like I needed to serve her, so this time my intentions became action and I mowed her lawn also. I was really tired mowing two large lawns, ut it justfelt good and right to serve others. I'm still learning at 71 years of age, and I enjoyed reading this book.

I picked this book up after it was recommended by one of my favorite authors, Donald Miller. It's short but does a great job of sharing the authors' hearts concerning learning to see peoples' needs and further, figuring out ways in which we can meet those needs.

The stories which are told throughout the book represent a great deal of experience and wisdom (acquired through great effort and much work). The authors are careful to remind their readers of three important principles throughout:

1. Everyone has something to give.
2. Most people are willing to give when they see the need and have the opportunity.
3. Everyone can do something for someone right now.

Many of us dream about a changed world. Instead of dreaming of the big, daunting picture, these authors are inviting us all to make those changes by meeting one need at a time...needs which are undoubtedly present wherever we might find ourselves...and needs which we undoubtedly are able to at least begin to meet when we become willing to engage them.

One of my prize possessions is this book, a copy of the original 1975 edition, signed by Professor Ott himself.

When I first got a job in Quality Assusrance, this was one of the books I consulted in my local college library. I soon found it was the best of the lot for its clear explanations, practical examples and sheer readability. When I came back into QA after working in another field, one of the first things I did was procure a copy of the book from a bookfinder - the 2nd hand copy I was delighted to discover also had Ott's signature!

It is great to see an updated edition is now on sale and that Ellis Ott's name is not forgotten, for he (as far as I can find out about him) is one of the unsung pioneers of Statistical Process Control. Ott is not longer with us, but the co-authors have sensibly decided to update a classic, rather than starting from scratch. The examples in the older book are as relevant today as they are then.

From what I can see, this book sticks to the philosophy of the earlier editions but has modernized its approach in some respects, especially in the notation of Experimental Design and in the use of Excel, which I also remommend as an easy-to-use PC tool. Highly recommended for practitioners of Statistical Process Control.

You want SPC, you got it.

This is a wonderful textbook for the practicing statistician, process engineer, or anyone who works with data on a regular basis. This book finds the right mix of statistical theory and practical applications of the statistical concepts to process troubleshooting. "Process Quality Control: Troubleshooting and Interpretation of Data" will be appropriate for a course taught to statistics majors as well as anyone in an engineering field, and it will also be a very valuable reference to anyone working in industry who is tasked with using data to make decisions about their processes.

The book is very thorough, covering everything from the basics of visualizing data (histograms, box plots, etc.) through basic DOE and SPC all the way to more sophisticated SPC concepts such as narrow-limit gauging, acceptance control charts, and cumulative sum charts. I cannot think of a topic in basic SPC that is not covered in this text. A great bonus is the CD that comes with the text that includes answers to all of the exercises and an add-in for Excel that performs Analysis of Means, making this great graphical tool for summarizing results of statistical analyses even more practical to use.

All in all, a very thorough text with many examples/case studies that would be useful to anyone in industry in charge of controlling and improving processes.

I recommend that this very well written text belong to every statistician who works in industry. Others such as mechanical, electrical, chemical, etc., engineers and scientists will also find this book to be a valuable reference. The book covers the breadth of useful statistical methods that industrial practitioners would likely encounter. Some topics such as implementing statistical process control, design of experiments with two or three factors, and troubleshooting with attributes and variables data are discussed extensively. Many real life examples from various industries are used throughout to illustrate the statistical concepts. All topics are well referenced enabling the reader to explore more thoroughly their areas of interest. The book also features a CD-ROM for the PC which contains datasets and solutions to practice exercises. An Excel add-in program is included for Analysis of Means [ANOM] of attributes and variables data the results of which are presented graphically.

The book is divided into three sections: Basics of Interpretation of Data, Statistical Process Control, and Troubleshooting and Process Improvement. The first section reviews many basic statistical concepts familiar to most statisticians. The second describes many facets of SPC some of which, such as Precontrol or Narrow-Limit Gauging in Process Control, the reader including myself may not be conversant, but will find useful in their own line of work. The last section describes what are probably underutilized but often very useful troubleshooting techniques. ANOM, for example, is a powerful way of analyzing data from industrial experiments with two or three factors resulting in graphics that can be used to clearly communicate conclusions to managers, to other engineers and scientists, and/or to operators on the shop floor.

I really enjoyed reading this book and am finding it to be a valuable reference to which I refer again and again.

Hank W. Altland Senior Project Engineer, Statistics Corning, Inc.

August 26, 2000