Fletcher Books

The author has done an incredible job covering the history of this area in Minnesota. The book was great to read and very informative.

This book is filled with wonderful photos of all the original settlers of this rural Minnesota community. There are many facts and stories to go along with the images throughout the book.

I recommend this for anyone who wants to know more about the community they live in or if you aren't from the area, you will enjoy the historical significance of how this area of Minnesota was settled.

I am a teenager and I know what its like to feel like you can't breathe when your not with someone. The teen years are some of the hardest in my opinion and this book puts everything we feel into words that we normally cannot express. Being a teen is hard but its even tougher when your a teen who is in love. This book made it easier on me and others as well I suspect! So, to the author, thank you for putting our thoughts into a book!

These poems are simpily and honestly about teenagers in and out of love. There isn't volumes of hidden meaning or deep messages, the words speak for themselves and easily touch you. If you have ever had a crush or been in love, reading Mr. Fletcher's poems will seems like reading the emotions of your heart. I highly recomend this book!

When searching for love poems that my 9th and 10th grade students would enjoy during Valentine's week, I found poem after poem in this slender book to which they could relate -- about first touches, first broken hearts, first words of love. Even a high school English class comes to life in a one poem. A terrific book to give as a present to a teenager or to use in a high school classroom.

Room Enough for Love is a collection of short, free verse poems centering on the life of adoloescents. It is rare to find poetry specifically meant for teens and pre-teens, especially poetry that is as moving as that of Fletcher's in this book. In his many short poems Fletcher covers teen topics such as crushes, childhood memories, teachers, parents, etc. But take it from my students, many of whom have read and loved the book: these are not silly poems that talk down to teens and from an author who pretends to undertand but really doesn't. Fletcher does seem to remember what it was like to be that age, and his poems vibrate with such memories. It is because they are so real that my students, grades 6-12, love them so much.

How often do we visit a museum and admire beautifully wrought pieces of period silver? The intricate detailing is amazing and we glance at the date - early 19th century. We're in awe, wondering how such work could have been accomplished at that point in time. If this is the case, chances are good we're appreciating the skills of Thomas Fletcher & Sidney Gardiner.

The pair founded their firm in 1808 Boston, and moved to Philadelphia some three years later. Today we think of Tiffany, at that time it was Fletcher & Gardiner, premier silversmiths who flourished until 1842. They revolutionized public appreciation of silver, and made it available not only in elegant presentation pieces but also for personal use.

Their artistry astounds on a pitcher boasting sculpted lion-paw feet and a hinged lid where again sculpture is employed to create a serpent, a dog head, and a dolphin. All of which, as is noted, "figured importantly in classical art." The base of this particular piece is "ornamented with borders and panels of vegetal decoration."

There is a sauceboat with a curved handle "terminating with a female mask." In commemoration of the sinking of a Britain's Guerriere off Newfoundland's coast on August 19, 1812, the firm created the "heaviest, tallest, and most complex work in silver ever produced in North America." It is grand and perfectly captured in a full page photograph, only one of 300 illustrations in this handsome volume.

Also included are working drawings from The Metropolitan Museum of Art. This is a rare book and a joy not only for collectors, scholars, and curators but for all who find pleasure in beauty.

- Gail Cooke

Since many of the photographs are in private collections, this book is the only place to see them. But beyond the generously-sized color photographs which are the first element that catches one's attention, one finds that the book is made up of different parts knowledgeably brought together and skillfully arranged. In other hands, these diverse topics might seem eclectic or like an anthology. But here the various visual matter and content flows seamlessly; so that the reader does not have to shift gears, but is drawn on to the oncoming handsome photographs and informative, expert text. "Silversmiths to the Nation" is a visual treat, incomparable historical and artistic text on the famed silversmith partnership, and invaluable reference for students, collectors, and dealers.

The co-authors and three contributors named on the title page put the important silversmiths and their firm in the social context of their time of the early 1800s, particularly the leading role of the city of Philadelphia and the emergence of a wealthy upper middle class. The merchants, professionals, and the like of this class sought fine household objects, including ones with uniquely American symbols and design expressing the pride, confidence, and growing power of the relatively new nation. Fletcher and Gardiner's resplendent presentation pieces for heroes of the United State's victory over Great Britain in the War of 1812 brought the firm to wide notice and marked a new level of design and production for silver pieces.

Following the six illustrated chapters of thematic material taking up almost half the book is an illustrated catalog of 88 Fletcher and Gardiner individual pieces or sets. This catalog goes with an exhibition which moves from the Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York City), the Winterthur Museum (Delaware), and the Society of the Four Arts (Palm Beach, FL) over 2008. This connection with the exhibition is kept subtle, however, so as not to narrowly define this work or limit interest in it with its content which exceeds considerably a typical exhibition catalog. The entries for each silver piece or set in the catalog section describe its dimensions, design details, and when applicable its inscription; and this is followed by information on its origination and history. For example, short profiles of individuals such as war heroes a piece was specifically produced for are given. In other cases, the consumer interest or design idea is briefly discussed. One hot water urn, for example, was produced to meet the "growing popularity of coffee and tea". In many cases, the details of the background of silver objects include who they were first sold to.

Then after the endnotes come four appendices; the first one being "Marks of the Firm and Its Associates" with clear, close-up photographs of the marks, the others concerning genealogy of Fletcher and Gardiner and documents of theirs. The bibliography is four and a half pages.

If you are seriously interested in architecure then this should be a staple of your library. Whether an architecturtal student or a professional this book is a most. It it well written in the text and superbly highlighted with examples of photographs and sketches.

As a student in architectural school this was a valuable tool for studies and design ideas for projects. As a professional I would be lying if I said that I never pull it off my bookshelf.

This is not a book for simple or light reading. It is a reference book that belongs in any architectural interested person's library.

As a student of Architecture, this was my guide to History of World Architecture. The illustrations are a highlight to this book. Sir Banister Fletcher talks in depth about each of the Architectures like Egyptian, Roman, Greek...to Modern Skyscrapers in terms of evolution of civilizations, Architecture, the Architects, the building materials etc.. The book is like a Guru for History of Architecture.

Hey...if I ever wanted to justify my sinful urges to have extramarital SEX I would read this book and live by Fletcher's maxim's! LOVE is the justification for all kinds of self gratifying SIN. What a great concept from a trusted source at that. Here is a guy that started out as an Episcopal Priest and died as an anti-christian atheist! Now that's a trustworthy source for ethical standards of righteousness and moral purity!

This is a good book in a way that shows that life quickly becomes too complicated for a few simple rules to work everything out effectively. The intellectual part played by the author seems to be like the "no actor anywhere better than the Jack of Hearts" in the song, "Lily, Rosemary, and the Jack of Hearts" by Bob Dylan, the longest song on the "Blood on the Tracks" album, which has been extremely popular for years. Situations are as different as the verses of that song, and Rosemary is not unusual when "she was with Big Jim but she was leaning toward the Jack of Hearts." Lily "had come away from a broken home with lots of strange affairs with men in every walk of life which took her everywhere, but she never met anyone quite like the Jack of Hearts." The song is more tragic than this book. The book is religious enough to adopt love as its ultimate standard. Love can be a great motivator on a personal level, but the situations that it leads to in sex and warfare can be quite striking, like American troops breaking down doors in the middle of the night because they are trying to find people and weapons that are more dangerous than Hosea's wife. I liked this book because it illustrated that sex might be considered useful in a lot of situations, which was not what I was experiencing in real life at the time. Our society is due for some attitude adjustment on sex and love, and this book clearly thinks love is more important, but people who read it are more likely to be interested in the sex. After you read it, you might know what Bob Dylan meant when he sang, "I know I've seen that face somewhere, Big Jim was thinking to himself."

I really enjoyed this book! I was not expecting the ending, this story really made me think about life. Anyway this is a fine book, I can not wait to read another book by Lucille Fletcher. Keep up the good work.

I have always wanted to rate this item. Sorry Wrong Number is the best suspense book I have ever read in my life. It is unique, it is believable, and it grows.

Unfortunately, I tried to read another one of Lucille Fletcher's books called Mirror Image, and it was very scary, but there was WAYYY too much langauge and sex. Be careful!

When I saw all the reviewers on the book, I thought I was at a historians conference, but when I read the book, I thought it was a great collection. I read a lot of ghost stories when I was young, and some of them were fun, but I knew about some of these stories as I am from Texas. Taylor weaves a journalist's flavor into the story, and touches it with a neighbor's concern, and garnishes it with the flustered nerves of the witness. Great stories, great story-telling.

I never really thought of Texas as a place that had so many ghost stories. The author does a great job gathering them all together in one book. It is a delightful reading experience.

It reads like a novel but the tales are true unless you are a big skeptic - then you will find them all just entertaining stories - but for those who believe - then these are exciting experiences and stories.

The author truly does a great job writing them and her added prose is a nice touch. First class ghost stories.

Read this. It's all about adventure and intuition. I recommend this to anyone interested in Australia and/or entrepreneurship.

This is an enjoyable read with a Texas drawl. Jack Fletcher tells the story of the great Australian countryside in a manner resembling a chat around a campfire. Experiences from dealings with Kings to crocks, Jack makes you feel like you are there. If you have a country itch and a longing for Australia, this is a must read.

This book captivated me from the begining to the end. I can't wait till his next book comes out. I'll be waiting in line.

Title: Threads of Deception
Author: James Fletcher
Genre: Crime fiction
Length: 252 pages

"Threads of Deception" written by James Fletcher is a must read. The webs of deception wove through this novel draws the reader into each of the characters' individual act of betrayal. I know this is the first of many successful books that will be written by Mr. Fletcher and I for one look forward to reading the next.

I rate this book ***** stars.

Reviewed by: Darcy J. Busch
Date: May 4, 2008