Donovan Books

My husband and I needed "fresh oil" so to speak, to pour into our marriage ministry and this book hit the spot. It brought up the answer to our long question of " Why aren't we a ministy yet". This 10 session course enriched over 20 marriages and they are effectively ministering to people now. I look to use this book over and over again!

And with Dr. Donovans material married couples can strengthen their relationship no matter where they are, newly-weds on up. We have been married for 30 years, yet we learned new and beneficial things all through the 10 sessions. The way Dr. Donovan has written and formatted the Christ-centered material, it makes it very easy to understand and follow. All marriages take work, and I would highly recommend "Maximizing your Marriage" for any couple that is looking to improve their relationship with each other.

Aha! Noelle Braddock means to be the only one to chose her own husband. Not her father, much as she loves him.

She has left herself open to the subtle flattery of a 38 year old jaded man who is looking to seduce a virgin. Adam Bartholomew Prestley considers Noelle an innocent, but being raised by her marriage broker father, Russell Braddock, he expects her to have the knowledge and wantonness of a [...].

Lieutenant Zachary Dane, 26, is invited to the Braddock mansion as a curtesy to Colonel Tom Greer. He shows up in dusty buckskins and appears to Noelle as uncouth and backwoodsy. Not a man who has served as bodyguard to General Grant. Not a man who knows how to socialize. She does learn that he is an accomplished sharpshooter with his rifle, "Henry". And his horse is called "Mercury", he talks to him a lot.

Noelle seems to have a bit of confusion about what represents love and attributes all the qualities to Adam. Zach seems to have seen the disrespect and lust that Adam allows to show once. He feels that Adam will destroy Noelle's confidence in love and her ability to make the right choice.

Ah, but then the wedding to Adam dawns and Noelle appears as the fairy-tale bride. Thank god for the emotional explosion. Zach and Mercury to the rescue.

The rest of the story pulls all the loose ends together [with humor] and a flirtatious Dr. Philip Davenport.
It seems that Russ wants to move to California - so Noelle is moveing that way through Virginia City, Nevada. Zach makes contect with Megan Steele, Noelle's cousin.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED -- a great addtion to the HAPPILY EVER AFTER CO. saga.

In 1866, marriage broker Russell Braddock's invitation to provide personal service to Lieutenant Zachary Dane has unexpected results. MEANT TO BE is the THIRD book of the Happily Ever After Co. miniseries.

Zach arrives at the Braddock home in Chicago prepared to ask for a bride who is "young, sturdy, cheerful, healthy, a good cook, and suited to a simple, hardworking life and raising sons and daughters." However, when he sees Noelle Braddock standing on a table for a fitting in her wedding gown, one look confirms that he's found the perfect bride. Her long legs and silvery eyes will certainly compensate for her lack of cooking skills. Now he's got to convince Noelle she's marrying the wrong man, and they are meant to be.

Noelle refuses to entertain the brash young war hero clad in buckskins, despite her strong attraction. She's engaged to marry another, whose age, polish, and social position will guarantee a life of genteel fulfillment. With a professional match maker for a father, Noelle has always been determined to find her own husband, and believes she's found him; that is, until Zach turns her world upside down with his shameless seduction. But it will take more than sweet words to convince Noelle that she's engaged to the wrong man.

MEANT TO BE tells the story of a love and passion that begins with a glance, and ends in an inferno. With heated, stolen moments that inspire romantic desire, MEANT TO BE is a sexy, fun romp filled with sparkling dialogue and playful naughtiness. When confronted with her fiancé's true nature, Noelle's response and subsequent action keep the plot moving delightfully along. Indeed, Kate Donovan's characteristic style for blending the madcap and the sensual, the rogue and the innocent, makes MEANT TO BE highly recommended.

This guy Michael Jahn's family has been in New York since before there were printing presses. He knows more about the Big Apple than any other writer. Read "Murder In Central Park" and you will know enough to give guided tours, somebody said, and I agree. Have a great day!

Though Manhattan's Central Park seems like a vast oasis in the middle of a concrete jungle, there are sections that few people will ever visit. Captain Bill Donovan, Chief of NYPD's Special Investigations Unit, camps out in the park with a friend who is conducting research on crows. The next morning, Bill sees a crow eating a human corpse slashed several times by a knife. Bill's overnight companion Lauriat is a suspect because he was not with his camping partner at the time death occurred. Bill and Lauriat heard teenagers nearby, but when Donovan and his men track down the two people, they find it to be the researcher's son and his cyber-stripper girlfriend.

Officials believe the victim was killed for spying on the queen of cyber-nudity. Lauriat lies to protect his son, which only muddles the bewildering case further. Bill goes undercover to try to ascertain new leads since he does not truly believe the trio of prime suspects are killers. Bill's hunches have always worked out in the past, but this time his need is more personal than ever before.

Anyone who has not read the Bill Donovan mysteries should try them because the lead character is an everyman doing his best. Bill is a devoted husband, a doting father, a dedicated police officer, and a recovering alcoholic. MURDER IN CENTRAL PARK continues this fifty plus anti-hero's exploits to see that justice is served. The support cast enhances the star quality of Bill by making him seem more vulnerable and human. Respected author Michael Jahn focuses his latest police procedural on one of Bill's most puzzling cases and will send the audience seeking out Mr. Donovan's previous tales.

Harriet Klausner

No one writes suspense better than Michael Jahn! This book is un-put-downable! If John Grisham were alive today, he would be writing books like this one! Highly recommended!!!

It is the day after Thanksgiving and all seems right in fifty-two year old police Captain Jim Donovan's life because he has married his beloved Marcie. In a few weeks they will have their first child, a boy. Being over forty, Marcie faces a high-risk pregnancy and is under constant medical monitoring. Jim is working a part-time schedule centered in his spouse's hospital room.

However, his superior abruptly suspends Jim's status when a Santa's angel uses a gun containing trace uranium bullets to break through a bulletproof window, killing a customer. Subsequently, a second store is hit with another patron murdered. Donovan ducks bullets and tries to keep the mayor alive. However, his biggest problem is a pregnant woman, who wants her husband safe and at her side when she gives birth to their son.

The sixth novel in the Jim Donovan mystery series is an engaging who-done-it that is impossible to solve. Jim is a flawed person, who has finally found peace in his middle age. Michael Jahn brilliantly catches the flavor of a large city as well as the problems facing an ethnically mixed couple. MURDER ON FITH AVENUE catches the nuances and mindsets of the varying cultures to a rarely seen perfection that becomes the heart of the novel. This reviewer is looking forward to a harried Jim changing the diaper of an out of control infant boy.

Harriet Klausner

I read this book several years ago and was amazed at how clearly I was identified as one who "claimed" to be Catholic but who really had no idea what a Catholic believes. This book helped to explain our faith in terms that made sense. Much has happened in my life since I first came across this book, and I am now truly "Proud to Be Catholic"!

A must for all to read who are wondering about the church. It explains all in very easy terms. Fr Ken has a style and a way that makes a difficult subject east to understand. You owe it to your self to read this. Especially those who have wondered off toother churches.

I design satellites. When a fresh college graduate starts working with me, I always loan him my copy of this book with instructions to pay special attention to kinematic mounts and spectroscopy. Much of the book is just fun because it's so, so, dated. More than half of the book is useful today because it clearly explains how things work. This is a classic practical engineering book.

Do you like scientific notebooks? I do. My first one was a book that I bought from Radio Shack called "The Engineers Notebook". It was packed with tables, schematics, drawings and explaniatory text. There was just enough information there to make something happen, and start you on your way towards understanding the science involved. Gosh, I love Scientific Notebooks.

This is a classic notebook, by a scientist who was tutored in the basics of draftings. Thus it is well written, and beautifully illustrated. It is wonderful. It is the kind of book that you could pick up and open a page, and dream about making your own X-Ray machine...or maybe a portable backyard radio telescope.

Buy this one for your children. If you have a son who is pre-teen to teenage, let him imagine and explore the world around him. Let him take this book and dream the dreams of great men.

Anyone who has ever considered taking a trip to the beautiful island of Sicily, should not even pack before reading this book. My friend and I just returned from a trip to this remarkable island and during the trip, we coincidentally stayed at a few of the places mentioned in this book and had an incredible time. While at one of the locations, I spotted the book. After only a few minutes of perusing, I knew I HAD to have this book. The Donovans, Simon and Robert had pretty much experienced a similar trip and I knew their vivid recount would help us remember the breathtaking land, the proud, gracious, full-of-life people who live there, and the indescribable food they produce. Their travel tips are right-on and a must for any Sicilian traveller. It has also inspired me to compile a travel journal of our trip. As a graphic designer myself, I also compliment the incredible layout and design. A wonderful coffee-table book for anyone to cherish.

Molto bene.
Grazie tanto Gail, Kevin, Simon and Robert!

When you read this book - should I say 'sample' it - and see the wonderful photographs of Italian landscapes, architectural features, and mouth watering food, have your 'plastic' ready, and a telephone nearby so you can book your own adventure.

This book may just be the best combination touring/cooking/picture-taking guide to Italy that you will find. And hats off to the book designer who made it into a wonderful travel scrapbook. The design alone is the definitive guide to producing your own travel journal/diary/photo album. You will want to make a book like this for your own journey(s).

For [the price], this is as close as you can get to being in Italy. In fact, if you play some of the Cieli di Toscana CD by Andrea Bocelli, drink a nice dry Italian red wine, and eat a little Bruschetti as you browse the pages of this coffee table book, you may be magically transported.

Salute!

...from the Vermont Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit Spreadsheet Project. Amazon doesn't allow URLs in book reviews, but Google's first link searching on the above name (no quotes) was the correct one on 9.12.07.

Originally conceived as a single book, these two volumes have been tailored to suit ecology/evolution or conservation biology/landscape ecology curricula. They help students develop expertise in building models using spreadsheet programs such as Microsoft® Excel. Why should students build their own spreadsheet models from scratch, when so many specific, prewritten models are widely available? Because when you program a model from scratch, you learn all aspects of modeling: what parameters are important, how the parameters relate to each other, and how changes in the model affect outcomes. In other words, you not only learn about models, you also learn about modeling. The mystery of modeling dissolves when students actively create and develop their own programs in a spreadsheet environment.

Each spreadsheet exercise provides a list of objectives, background material, and annotated step-by-step instructions (Windows and Macintosh) for creating a model on a given topic. Students then examine how various parameters affect model outcomes and, through a set of guided questions, are challenged to develop their model further. In the process, they become proficient with many of the functions available on most spreadsheet programs and learn to write and develop their own macros.

Spreadsheet Exercises in Ecology and Evolution and Spreadsheet Exercises in Conservation Biology and Landscape Ecology can be used independently as the basis of a laboratory course, or can supplement a variety of texts. The target audience is undergraduate and beginning graduate students.

This book is interesting and insightful. Street Crime Investigations is great for rookie cops or interested citicens who would like to learn something new about the police beat. The author writes true stories of his past experinces and follows them up with his investigating technique and tips on how to conduct the most successful investigation possible. I strongly recomend this book to any one who is, or who interested in Police Officers!!!

This book is interesting and insightful. Street Crime Investigations is great for rookie cops or interested citicens who would like to learn something new about the police beat. The author writes true stories of his past experinces and follows them up with his investigating technique and tips on how to conduct the most successful investigation possible. I strongly recomend this book to any one who is, or who interested in Police Officers!!!

Anyone who drives a car should read this book which covers the history of the automobile from the 1890s to the early 1960s on 290 pages with over 125 illustrations. The bicycle craze of the 1890s taught America the benefits of personal transportation. The motorized carriage was the next logical step. These pioneers were self-taught skilled mechanics, born between 1857 and 1864. The main components existed, the principles were known; the automobile creators were not inventors in the strict sense. The automobile answered a need in rural life. Gasoline engines were in use as stationary power plants.

America was not receptive to the new horseless carriage. These playthings of the rich were said by Professor Woodrow Wilson to "spread socialistic feelings"! The public resented the owners who drove as if they owned the road. The rich loved automobiles because they avoided the crowds at railroads. Song writers quickly connected sex with automobiles; they also became a favorite stage prop ("Man and Superman"). The French leadership in automobiles was partly due to Napoleon's legacy of good paved interurban highways (no "Red Flag" law). Neither mud or two feet of water could stop a horse. Frequent flats required an hour to repair the tube. Rural farmers learned how to sabotage cars: barbed wire in the road. These noisy machines panicked horses, cattle, and chickens. Speed traps were invented. Doctors were early adopters; they made house calls.

Automobile companies began in Detroit rather than the machine companies of New England because the newly rich Midwesterners had a pioneering, gambling spirit; or the background knowledge that automobiles were a good thing. The wealth in Boston and New York shied away from those who claimed a machine would replace a horse! While a steam car needed over ten minutes to warm up, a gasoline engine could be started with one crank of the engine. Most manufacturers built large, expensive cars, leaving the sub $1,000 market to Ford and others. The practice was to sublet parts manufacturing and just assemble the finished product. The NY financiers who owned the Selden patent threatened Ford and other manufacturers; this was an attempt to create a monopoly. But this was when Teddy Roosevelt started trust-busting. The Ford car was built with items that existed before the 1895 Selden patent; it worked better than the "modern cars". The Selden patent was overly broad: "any vehicle propelled by a hydrocarbon engine". The Supreme Court limit its coverage; Ford won, and was regarded as the "inventor" of the automobile by many.

Billy Durant pioneered the integration of parts production within General Motors, and bought up many small companies. GM was listed on the NYSE in 1911, and paid the largest cash dividend ($50) in 1915. This was now the end of the pioneering era; Big Money controlled the automobile business. DuPont bought up a good chunk of GM. Henry Ford gained full control of the Ford Motor Co. The Great Depression killed off many of the small automobile manufacturers. After WW II there was the Big Three and the Little Nine. The 1950s saw the end for the latter; only American Motors lasted until around 1980.

The sketch of an ignition system is mislabeled as the "automobile self-starter" (p.136 in Chapter 5).

Fabulous!! One of the best books detailing the history of the American auto industry I have ever read. The book starts at the absolute beginning, detailing early european attempts that eventually led to the birth of the American automobile. Donovan walks you through the industry, introducing you to automotive giants like Henry Ford, Ransom Olds, and Alfred P. Sloan. I find that I can now "talk shop" with even the most astute automotive historians and even have stories to tell them. This is a must-read for any automotive entrepreneur or aspiring automotive historian.