Frank Books

Nancy has researched and presented in simple and easy to use format the critical information needed for successful early season indoor gardening. If you want to save a ton of money and have great bedding plants you grow yourself, this book will give you invaluable assistance. I like her "down to earth" approach and clear explanations of her methods. If you're a serious gardener, you will seriously love this book!

`The New Seed Starters Handbook' by Nancy Bubel is a serious and superior manual on virtually all aspects of starting all different types of plants from seed. As with books on cooking, there are hundreds of books on gardening which are designed to go directly to the budget book pile and give relatively small value for the space they take up on your bookshelf. There are several obvious symptoms that this book is not to be dismissed as a lightweight. The first is the fact that Rodale Press publishes it, which may be the only publishing imprimatur which has a serious commitment to its particular speciality of organic gardening. The second is that this is a second edition of an already successful book. Unfortunately, a third easy sign of a book's quality is missing, as there is no thumbnail sketch of the author's biography and credentials.

Fortunately, a quick browse of this book quickly reveals that Ms. Bubel has got serious game when it comes to instructing us on how to raise plants from seed. I'm especially fond of the opening to her introduction where she says her first attempts were not immediately successful, setting a realistic tone that even with the best instruction, growing plants from seed is not easy. That is not to say it can't be simple! I'm often enchanted by the difference in the cooking world between `easy' and `simple'. While making a great soup is not easy, if you break it down into its various steps, it is really rather simple, if you have the patience and the time to carry out each step with care and love (that is, close attention to what you are doing). Ms. Bubel cuts no corners in covering all the details, but lays everything out with an affection for her subject which invariably draws one in to wanting to run right out and build some cold frames.

The author addresses all types of seed started plants, including vegetables, herbs, `domestic' flowers, wildflowers, trees and shrubs. However, I suspect her first love is in growing vegetables, as that seems to come first and occupies the most space. But, in most cases, what works for your carrots will probably also work well for your marigolds, with only a few variations.

My fondest feelings for the book arise when I see Ms. Bubel going far beyond the average suburban garden plants of tomatoes, zucchini, and sweet peppers. Her dictionary of planting techniques even includes entries for the relatively exotic artichoke, peanut, and salsify. This brings me to the most appealing reason for growing your own vegetables. There are many species that are simply not available in even the biggest megamart. This includes even relatively easy to grow varieties of salad greens. And, even if you do find a good `summer mix', it is probably outrageously expensive. The second most appealing thing about growing your own, even if you limit yourself to a very few species, is the fact that homegrown vegetables can taste so incredibly better than store-bought stuff. I was pleasantly surprised when I cooked with some Italian parsley which had grown up from self-seeding from the previous year, and the difference in taste between it and the local fare was simply amazing.

The book is amply stocked with great appendices on sources. The only annoyance is that this is a pre-internet publication, but no Internet jocky worth their salt will have any problem locating the sites for, fore example, `Johnny's Seeds' or `Charlie's Greenhouse Supplies'.

I have the previous edition to this book and have been using it for years and years. I had a greenhouse and have been starting and growing flowers for 14 years. In my Or town, I am known as the Flower Lady and I can thank this book. It is one of those hard to find DOWN TO EARTH EASY TO READ INFO books. It tells you if the seed is difficult to germinate, and sometimes those seeds you can buy in packets in the stores, you couldn't start no matter what unless you owned a nursery and had all the equipment. Like I like to grow and sell perennials as they bring in good money and many of the perennials are very easy to grow from seed, but some of them are very hard, almost impossible, so before I start with a flower seed, I always look in this book. It is a life saver for me. I thin it also has veggie's ??? I can't remember and I can't find my copy but I"m digging. I alreay know most of what is in it, but this is the book for you if you want to grow flowers from seed and be very successful, but always remember the most important ingredient in growing flowers is goods soil. NOthing much worthwhile except a few grow in average to poor soil. I heavily ammended mine before I began. Good luck and your kids would love to grow too :)

This book is an introduction and reference for people who want to grow plants from seeds. The book is organized into 5 main sections: starting seeds indoors, preparing outdoor beds to receive transplants or seeds, detailed instructions for growing individual vegetables from seed, saving seeds, and record keeping and exchanging seeds. Bubel integrates the results of scientific studies and her own growing experience in her advice to novice gardeners. In striving for completeness, she even includes a chapter with folk wisdom about planting, noting which moon phases are thought to be best for planting and which are not. The book is amply illustrated with black-and-white photographs and drawings. End material includes a glossary, a bibliography, a list of suggested readings, lists of seed and equipment suppliers, and an index.

Although the book is written for people with very limited gardening experience, it is so full of information that even experienced gardeners are bound to learn something through reading it. Bubel's approach to gardening very much follows organic practices. The section on individual vegetables is a very valuable reference, with its details on when to plant, when to fertilize and how much to use of what, and when and where to transplant in the garden. Interspersed with the text are charts summarizing information such as germination rates for different vegetable seeds at different soil temperatures, or viability of vegetable seeds over varying storage times. The sections on preparing the soil for planting or transplanting and on saving seeds at the end of the season round out the book quite well, making this an excellent general gardening book, and not just a book about starting seeds.

This book should have a subtitle: Vegetable Gardening in Northern Climates. The author assumes that every reader has snowy winters and hot summers, and that every reader is a vegetable gardener. If I just described you, then without question, you should buy this book! I live in a cool coastal climate of California, where temperatures are generally between 50-65, regardless of season. I'm not trying to grow vegetables, simply trying to replace the weeds in my yard with no-watering-required wildflowers, herbs, etc. If this describes you, then I will say that the book is still good for basic seed-starting tips, fertilizing, etc., but that at least 70% of the book will not apply. FYI, here are a few of the things I've learned in the past several months: Birds eat seedlings/baby plants. Really. I've sat with coffee in hand watching them. Bird netting must be raised up at least six inches and stretched taught to keep them away, but then it is dangerous to wildlife. I took it out after I found a young possum caught in it, and had to cut him loose. He had badly wounded himself trying to get free. I've replaced it with basic clear plastic from the hardware store, the kind we californians all have around the house for flood control. So far, it is working great.

I have had this book for quite some time and use it with my speech and language students. I am actually thinking of getting a second copy for back up, it's that useful for my daily therapy. It's wonderful for the very little one as well as the more typically developing child.

Safari Sounds is even more pertinent to my students.

I love this book. I bought it for my baby nephew for Christmas. He loves to push buttons and play with toys that make sounds. The book was listed as being for slightly older children, but if you supervise your child (to make sure that they don't pull out the tabs or chew on the book) they will be sure to enjoy it. My nephew was thrilled that he could push a button, repeately, and hear an exciting sound. That was the most important part for him. His daddy read the book and told him about the animal, then my nephew pulled on the tab to see a picture of the animal that he had just heard. He laughed and squealed and kept pushing the button to hear the animal "talk". When he's old enough to read, I think he will even appreciate to the book even more. Until then, he's content to push the buttons over and over again.

What a fun book! The night is such a fascinating time for children (and adults). The squeaks and squawks and hoots coming from the mysterious shadows can either draw you in, or cause you to run into the house and hide. Gallo's book leads a child to do the former. He starts us all on familiar ground - guessing - what was that noise (supplied by crisply recorded sounds in the book)? Pull the tag, and your question is answered.

What sets this book apart, though, is the information Gallo shares once you lift the flap. The more you know about a creature, the more you want to know, and he supplies us with the important, and often fascinating, tidbits about each animal covered. The writing exposes the author's personal experience with the animals. For example, "The song of the whippoorwill is something you will never forget." You know he's heard this bird and knows what aspects about it to share in order to engage the young reader.

Using this information, the readers can then go out on that night, or the next morning, to seek out their nocturnal neighbors.

A good book to kick off the collection in your child's nature library!

This is a fun, entertaining and informative introduction to nocturnal animals for city or country kids. Each of eight animals is given a double-page spread that includes a large pull-tab that reveals the animal in a natural setting; a large lift-the-flap that reveals the animal's identity, picture and several well-chosen paragraphs of interesting information; and a 2-3 second push-button recording with decent sound quality -- the sounds are authentic but a little fuzzy. The eight animals are the coyote, spring peeper, great horned owl, American toad, whippoorwill, field cricket, bullfrog and katydid -- one mammal, two birds, three amphibians and two insects.

This is the kind of book that excites children's interest in nature. It is thoughtful and beautiful.

This book was bought as a family Christmas present last month. I thought that my boys, ages 3 and 6, would like it but jumpin' jimminy, it's become their favorite bedtime book.

Basically, you have a riddle on one side of the page that gives a few hints about the creature, and then you press the color-coded button on the bar below. The creature's sound is called and the child can try to guess its name. Then he can pull a tab on the opposite page to reveal a hidden picture of the night creature. Another flap under the riddle has more information.

My six year old cannot get enough of this. After we'd only read the book through a few times he started to play "guess this sound" games with me. He has all 10 creature calls memorized, as well as a lot of facts on each one. How many kids today know what a whippoorwill is, much less what it sounds like? As far as I'm concerned, Night Sounds is the perfect example of how to make learning both fun and effective for children.

I am planning on getting Bird Sounds and Safari Sounds (the other two books in this series) based on the tremendous enjoyment we have gotten out of Night Sounds. Fabulous teaching tool and a highly recommended family read-aloud book.
-Andrea, aka Merribelle.

This book is a true student service for online learning and is a great step toward online student retention! It covers everything the online student would need to know in order to succeed in a self-paced, self-motivated, and technology dependant environment!!

I compared Online Student Skills and Strategies Handbook (Pearson Longman 2006) to E-Learning Companion A Student's Guide to Online Success (Houghton Mifflin 2005) in order to select a resourse to support distance learning. I found Online Student Skills and Strateiges Handbook much more useful, learner oriented and readily accessible. It includes large, clear screen captures to accompany step by step directions. It handles practical topics like using Rich Text Format (RTF), practicing netiquette, storing lessons in a binder, and submitting assignments. It also includes cross references to other relevant chapters in the handbook, and it includes other Internet resources for each chapter. In comparison, E-Learning seems too textbookish. While E-Learning has a useful glossary and index, Online Student Skills and Strategies has a glossary, index and Webliography.

This is a valuable resource for students interested in a successful on-line learning experience. The straightforward and practical examples should help guide everyone from novice to experienced.

I was very impressed with the format, content, attention to detail, step-by-step approach to help users work through technology, and the success-oriented focus of the text. The first chapter utilized an innovative and unique assessment to help users identify what they already know and what they will need to focus on to learn. The text is a well-designed and non-threatening resource for any online user.

I think this text is a practical and useful guide for both novice and experienced online students. The information is very well organized throughout with a couple great appendices containing websites and computer skill tips. The helpful screenshots and lay flat binding are a plus for use as you are working on the computer.

Hey everyone! Mr. Frank was my teacher last year and was a...GOOD teacher. And I haven't read the book yet but Mr. Frank is a great writer and all my friends read it and tell me it's great and very entertaining and educational!!! Mr. Frank is a great guy who's very nice and very talented and his book is great so I just sugest you buy it...IT'S MY RECOMENDATION! :D

Okay, you may not belive me , but Mr. frank was my sixth grade teacher. This was his first book and it took him ten yars to complete, it payed off well. This book is great for school students and even if your not one, you should still by this book NOW! If you read this review , Mr. STEVEN Frank it's comming from the kid Director in 7th grade.

A charming, funny, and thoroughly entertaining book on the craft of writing which is appropriate for students at the middle school level and above. Even grown-ups will find the book most enjoyable. Mr. Frank has many illustrative stories and annecdotes which make the book so worthwhile. A great tool in or out of the classroom.

A delightful book on writing which substantially raises the bar for all works in this field. It teaches, motivates, elevates, and entertains students. When I look at the sorry state of "approved" books in this subject and compare it to Mr. Frank's masterpiece, I feel we teachers need to cast our votes strongly in Mr. Frank's camp. Students cannot help but be inspired to write--and write well--with a text like this.

In addition to books about writing term papers and how to properly study, in THE PEN COMMANDMENTS, Steven Frank has written a guide for the novice prose writer. Other authors and experts have covered this topic, but Frank's book is one of the most accessible I have read. Full of common sense suggestions, easy-to-understand explanations, and a cogently organized process, the book is one to which every new writer should turn.

Drawing on his experience as a high school English teacher, the author walks the aspiring reader through all parts of the writing process. He's structured the book in the form of 10 Commandments (i.e. Thou shalt not Kill Thy Sentences; Thou Shalt Describe Thy World, Express Thy Opinions, and Preserve Thy Past; Thou Shalt Overcome Writer's Block; Thou Shalt Not Covet Thy Writer's Prose). Humorously and in an engaging-sometimes laugh-out-loud-style, the author demystifies the writing process and makes it seem fun. Particularly useful are his suggestions for recommended reading and an appendix of the top ten grammar mistakes to avoid. The book is durably composed with no messy slip cover, and it's the perfect size for any novice to carry in a book-bag or purse.

Any new writer serious about exploring the world of writing should get thee to thy nearest book outlet, purchase this book, and read it from cover to cover. The few hours spent will be immensely worthwhile. Highly recommended. ~Lori L. Lake, author and freelance reviewer for Midwest Book Review, Golden Crown Literary Society's "The Crown," The Independent Gay Writer, and Just About Write.com.

The BEST collection of pulp genre ever. Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? Is there a Doc Savage in the house? Can I get that Fu Manchu to go? how about some Lovecraft? I guess it all should have warped us, but it didn't, and all that we watch and read today has drawn strength from these wonderfully cheap reads. Totally sweet from design to content. Robinson knows his stuff and it all makes for a CHERISHED collectible book!

This is a fully revised edition of the first pictorial history of the pulp magazines to be published and the authors finally got it right. There is a complete index of magazine titles and the artists who painted their covers, the images have been rescanned to eliminate any "moire" patterns that may have degraded the paintings, and the most unusual cover ever published has now been included (a painting by John Held Jr., famous for his "sheiks and shebas" of the Jazz Age). The cover has been redesigned and features the image of a pirate far more fearsome than Johnny Depp. This is the book that started it all and the price is now more than right. --Frank M. Robinson (I'm one of the authors).

I puchased this book for 50% off, and after reading it, I can say that even at full price, it would have been worth it. Page after page of bright clear reproductions of pulp covers, many almost full-page, with any extra space filled with smaller images. The book is divided into chapters based on subject matter: Westerns, Super Heroes, Sci-Fi, Horror, Gangsters, etc. The text is informative, but minimal - it provides just enough background on each chapter's subject and then lets the art speak for itself. Each cover is accompanied with information on the issue and artist, plus some informative personal commentary from the author. Plenty of top-notch artists are included, such as Wyeth, Baumhofer, etc. Don't buy this for an in-depth analysis of pulp magazines; the star here is definitely the art, and it delivers in spades.

Hard-boiled Detectives, mysterious heroes, shadowy villains, evil oriental masterminds, and dames in distress...they are the stuff of the pulp magazines and the subject of this wonderful book by Frank Robinson which traces the history of pulp magazines and provides covers to hundreds of these great pulp magazines, so many lost in the antiquity of time...not to mention paper drives of the 1940's war years.

Robinson begins by tracing the roots of the pulps back to the dime novels of the late 1800's. Argosy would premiere as the first true pulp back in 1896 and before long dozens of competitors would emerge such as Popular Magazine, All-Story Weekly, New Story and so many more. Street & Smith, long a major publisher of dime novels would convert their Nick Carter series into Detective Story Magazine in 1915. The pulps were born!

Early on, adventure pulps were the most popular as they transported readers to strange and exotic lands in a time when few would ever leave their own state. It's where we first read the exploits of Tarzan, and heard the names of writers such as Burroughs, Mundy and Rohmer. Adventure magazine was among the most popular of those early days and they even had their own organization you could join called "The Legion" which would one day evolve into the American Legion. Adventure printed more than just fiction, they had many regular columns including "Wanted: Men & Adventurers" where real life mercenaries could advertise their skills for hire.

In the 1930's, detective pulps became the most popular as there were literally dozens of detective pulps being published. Among the most prominent pulps of the day was Black Mask Magazine, started by prominent newspaperman and political commentator H.L. Mencken. But he considered the pulps so low-brow that he didn't want his name associated with them. Still, Blackmask was a breeding ground for some for some of the great mystery and detective writers ever to pen a story including Dashiell Hammett, Erle Stanley Gardner, Lester Dent, and Raymond Chandler.

Robinson's narrative moves from one pulp genre to the next, with a short, but concise history of each. He examines the Western pulps and the interesting history of the man known as Max Brand. Brand was the most prolific pulp writer ever, appearing in 622 issues of Western Story magazine from 1920 - 1935. From there it's on to the hero pulps and the birth of the most famous pulp characters of all including "The Shadow", "Doc Savage", and "The Spider". The Shadow's covers were always among the most evocative and terrifying, especially those by the great George Rozen.

But the genre that gave us the most outrageous and grisly covers of the pulp era belongs to the "shudder pulps". Bondage, torture, sadism, nudity...nothing was held back in covers for such pulps as "Terror Tales" and "Horror Stories". These pulps are some of the most sought after today by collectors.

Romance, spicy adventures, sports, war...all of these get their just do in Pulp Culture but it's the sci-fi and fantasy section that will be a major appeal for many fans. It was here where some of the most famous and long-running pulps made their mark. Hugo Gernsback would usher in the age of Sci-fi pulps in 1926 with Amazing Stories. Soon there were dozens of competitors including Wonder Stories, Astounding Stories, and many more. And then there is perhaps the most famous, most collectible of all pulps, Weird Tales. Weird Tales would unleash the enormous talents of Robert E. Howard, H.P. Lovecraft, Robert Bloch, August Derleth, and countless others with stories that would endure, and continue to be reprinted, decades after their original publication. There are dozens of covers provided featuring the works of artists like Margaret Brundage and Virgil Finlay.

Robinson closes his book by providing an appendix to a handful of pulp dealers and notes on pulp values. This book would be worth the $40 price tag alone JUST for the hundreds of stunning covers re-printed, but Robinson's concise history of pulps just adds to the luster of the book. Simply a magnificent book for any fan or collector of pulp magazines.

Reviewed By Tim Janson

This book is a marvelous journey to a time that will not come back.Guided by two wonderful connoisseurs: writer ,pulp magazines scholar and collector Frank M. Robinson and Lawrence Davidson,"PULP CULTURE" was a beautiful gift that I bought(via Amazon.com ,from the NIGHT OWL CAFE Bookshop in North Hampton,NH) for myself.Reviewing this work for January magazine,David Middleton said:"For me it's mostly about covers.Those lurid,sensational covers." Well,for me it's about everything.I love the covers,of course(see the HANNES BOK painting for the November 1941 cover of WEIRD TALES),but I admire, too,the stories and writers.The adventure tales written by H.BEDFORD JONES and TALBOT MUNDY;the mystery and detective stories created by legends like DASHIELL HAMMETT and RAYMOND CHANDLER;the western yarns concocted by pulp giants like MAX BRAND and FRANK GRUBER.And the Magazines!It's titles!It's alluring titles:THE ARGOSY,THE ALL-STORY,BLACK MASK,DIME DETECTIVE MAGAZINE,ADVENTURE,THE BLUE BOOK,THE POPULAR MAGAZINE,WESTERN STORY,THE SHADOW MAGAZINE,G-8 AND HIS BATTLE ACES,TERROR TALES,HORROR STORIES,STRANGE STORIES,AMAZING STORIES,ASTOUNDING STORIES,FANTASTIC ADVENTURES,FAMOUS FANTASTIC MYSTERIES,THRILLING WONDER STORIES,PLANET STORIES and so on...I have a good envy of collectors like Frank M. Robinson who owns hundreds and hundreds of these shiny magazines with their garish covers,a happy guardian of these rare and precious popular art objects.
The books published by Collectors Press are already much sought after for it's exquisite design and intrinsic quality."PULP CULTURE" is one of them.

Dobson's detailed writing of character is pictoral and cutting edge. I was impressed with Stanford's courage in sickness and his journey down childhood challenge and woes with his family, friends and loves of his life. I was constantly reminded of my own trials and tribulations while reading this book. Exciting ending with a twist. As an novice writer, this piece gives my endeavor; focus and inner strength to a foundational outlook as a future writer. A must read and especially looking forward to more prints from this phenomenal author.

I love this book. I think this book should go straight to Oprahs Book Club. As my father and my friend, I feel that Frank Dobson has a talent like no other writer today. I love his style and I love him. GREAT JOB DAD! From Jasmin Dobson (your child)

I have just completed reading this novel after having to put it down a number of times to ponder my own feelings and life. I found it to be both haunting and thought provoking. This writer is extremely talented, having the ability to totally involve the reader with all of the characters and their individual pysche. I was both inspired and challenged by this experience. It made me think, it made me pray. It is sending me on a quest to find my own voice.

This novel is an extremely well-written piece of fiction. What stands out the most to me is the way the rythyms of the language combine with the centrality of music to create a world as lyrical as anything from the pen of Toni Morrison. It is the music and the fate of Stan that compel you to read on to the explosive conclusion. I would recommend this novel, Dobson's first, to anyone and eagerly anticipate the arrival of Climbing, his next.

Reading this reflected so much of my own similar upbringing and struggles. I was truly amazed of the writers' technigue and the ambiance that is developed between the reader and the author. You feel the story flow with ease from the pages to your inner self making you feel like you know exactly where the characters are and what they are dealing with. It is beautifully done and has a melodic sense as the words and emotions are filtered through and sent out to each reader to analyse and discover. The book has great depth and I look forward to many 'new' work done by this fresh new and very talented African American writer. Hats Off to Frank Dobson and continued success. I will pass the book on to everyone I know,and I await his next 'new' release.

This book was the answer to a prayer. I could not decide which of the teachings by different denominations was correct. Once I read the book, a lightbulb came on however. Thank you, Mr. Hart.

The book of Daniel gave us prophecies that laid down a precise pattern for us to follow, as they were fulfilled exactly as written. Frank Hart demonstrates that interpreting the book of Revelation, the close up view of Daniel's 70th prophetic week, in any less of a straightforward and exact manner is indeed private interpretation and a violation of 2 Peter 1:20! This book is the church's wake up call to cease and desist from allowing every form of private interpretation to be freely taught. For if Revelation does not mean what it says, then who is the wiseman, prophet, scholar, or annointed one who will tell us what God "really meant" by what He said??? This is indeed the modern church's Pandora's box. Thank you Frank for setting the record straight.

EARTH SHATTERING! This is the wake up call to the modern Western church concerning prophecy. The ear tickling myths surrounding popular Western thinking are exposed by the straightforward, as it reads, contextual method. Daniel's prophecies are precisely and historically ordered, setting the tone for the book of Revelation, which is basically a close up view of Daniel's 70th week. Frank Hart demonstrates that the chronologically written order of the timing factors in Revelation are as is, AND SHOULD NOT be reinterpreted! Most all of the current thinking rejects that Revelation is straight up. Mr. Hart proves this is a serious mistake by allowing the text to explain everything, verse by verse, chapter by chapter. IF YOU LOVE THE TRUTH, regardless of how painful it may be, you'll want this book. If you only want warm fuzzies that tell you what you want to hear, then buy something else.

Thank you Frank Hart! This is the first book on prophecy that actually makes complete sense. The no nonsense approach to this difficult subject made it easy to understand. Nothing was taken out of context from the Scriptures. The book was an easy read because the Bible was allowed to speak for itself, as written, NOT reinterpreted. I highly recommend this book! Get it, read it, study it and keep it as a reference, if you want to be informed.

I was amazed at just how easy it was to understand the book of
Revelation. There is so much confusing, highminded nonsense floating
around about biblical prophecy that I was initially very skeptical
about reading this book. But once I started into it, I saw that the
author was sincere about being completely honest and straightforward
with the text. No games, fancy diversions, or end runs around the
plain and simple meaning, allowing all the pieces of the puzzle to be
displayed in their written and chronological order. We owe Mr. Hart a
great big thank you for making such a difficult subject so easy to
understand! If you've ever really wanted to know about what the
ancient prophecies say, then this is the must read book for you.

Sadly, Robert Klepper died in 2000, at the age of 32. A very nice fellow and an important film historian. Do pick up this worthwhile book, and mourn the fact that there will be no more from him.

I bought this book last year and love it and use it all the time. I get films from libraries all over the country and look up the movies that come in. I bring it with me if I am going somewhere that I will be awhile and read each review. It has a permanent place on my coffee table. If you love silent films, this book is a must.

This is the best index of silent film that I've ever seen. The reviews are bold independent and informative, if not always completely objective, Mr. Klepper is not afraid to have an opinion. This is a reference that I keep going back to.

I have owned "Silent Films, 1877-1996" for two years, and use it as a constant reference. (If you are a fan of TCM "Silent Sunday" or are a fan of silent movies and would like a guide to watching or purchasing silent film, this is the first reference to which I turn.) This does not cover absolutely every silent film, but there have been very few which I did not find information upon here. "Silent Films" also covers actors, directors, and other cinematographical information. The price tag is high, but for the silent movie buff it is indeed worth the price. I journal my silent movie viewings on its pages to keep a record. "Silent Films, 1877-1996" has gone from investment to treasure.

Robert Klepper has a remarkable love and knowledge of silent film. His understanding of the historical place of any movie he reviews is impressive and thoughtful. The book is a standing resource for any film enthusiast. In watching these films some of our favorite practices are to look for scenes that more modern films either steal (or pay omage to - depending on your thinking) and to pay attention to stunts that no actor or actress will ever have to duplicate in a more advanced film age. These are things that Robert Klepper also makes notice of and shares with his readers. I find his rating system to be reliable to my own standards and his humor to be very welcome - though I think some readers might miss some of it.

I do cherish this particular book and guard it heavily - no one is permited to borrow it. (I am usually pretty generous with my shelves.)

I assure you that the book is well worth the price -it is an excellent resource to the novice or the expert.

J

In my 18 years in eyecare, I've never come across a better book on monocularity (having only one seeing eye). I've recommended this book to several patients, with wonderful results. My best advice to any person with only one useful eye is two-fold: always wear safety glasses, and get this book! It is full of practical advice that I've passed along to patients, even those who have two good eyes but must wear an eye patch on one for a while. This is grass-roots stuff to help you where you live...driving, dining out, even shaking hands. As an author and editor of eyecare material myself, I'm very particular and picky. But this book is a winner any way you look at it.

Do not be gouged by the used book sellers. The newest edition of the book is available from the book's website for a reasonable price. Put the name of the book into a search engine and you will find its website.

I was born with a Cataract in 1971 which wasn't removed until I was 7 years old in an out of town hospital (due to the fact that the doctors in my area who were not educated in Cataract surgery in infants.) From birth, I did not have vision in my right eye.

I was introduced to this book by my Ocularist when I received my scleral shell for my eye in 1996. (Yes, yet another doctor in my area that had no idea what he was doing. I lost my during a procedure he performed that was unnecessary.)

This book was helpful to me in understanding how and why I do certain things with one eye. Also, it explains how to compensate for the lack of depth-perception or peripheral vision. It gives a list of famous personalities with monocular vision so don't feel so alone. These people did great things in life with only one eye, for example Theodore Roosevelt, Sandy Duncan, Peter Falk, Guglielmo Marconi, John Milton, Horatio Nelson, and Hilaire Germain Edgar Degas are just a few.

I recommend this book to anyone who knows someone or is a person with one eye. Some may have lost their eye years ago or recently. Either way, it is a help to all.

I lost sight of one eye in 1988. It did not hurt, but I did not know what to expect, and how I would adapt to monocular vision. No-one seemed to be able to advise me - until I came across "A Singular View".
This book explains it in 129 large print pages, using ordinary English, not in medispeak. It explains how most people see, the process of adjusting to the use of just one eye, and tips to adapt in a wide range of day to day situations.
If you have lost, or are losing, the sight of one eye, are you close to someone in this situation, this book is a MUST.>

My 7 year old son lost vision in one eye through a accident. My sister found this book in the public library and it was very helpful to us as parents and for my son. It helped us deal with some of the every day difficulties in the first few months. It also helped us realize that he could continue doing alot of the same activities, with extra precautions of course. I have passed on the name of the book to all the eye specialist we have seen. I highly recommend this book to anyone who has lost vision in one eye or any one dealing directly with a friend or relative who has lost vision in one eye.

Urso writes of his upbringing in Ybor City, Tampa's Latin Quarter, which for decades was home to the U.S. cigar-rolling industry. Most of the rollers were Cuban immigrants, with some Spaniards and Italians thrown in. As an Italian (Sicilian, to be more precise), Urso relates what it was like to grow up a minority among the minorities. Of course, the cigar industry dried up when Americans got hooked on cigarettes. And Ybor City gradually lost its unique flavor. But it is making a comeback, based on a celebration of its history. This book is a must-read for Ybor City aficionados...

Yes, I think it is wonderful that someone can take the time to let the reader know just how he grew up in Ybor City. The real Ybor City is gone and will never come back to live. So this book gives a good picture of someone grewing up in YBOR CITY. Frank was the second generation who lived in Ybor. So it's great to know he took the time and his good memory to put his life in a book.

Author Frank Urso celebrates the Ybor City and Sicilian heritage of my childhood. As a second generation American, I found his autobiography often reflected similar memories of my own grandparents, parents, aunts and uncles. I could identify with many of his childhood experiences in Ybor City -- some funny, some simple slices of day-to-day life, some deeply poignant, and all insightful. In fact, in a couple of passages, I was pleasantly surprised to find he actually mentions two of my uncles, one paternal and one maternal. Mr. Urso writes about life as a child of Sicilian immigrants from a generation that, sadly, will soon be gone. His book will help share their stories with our children and grandchildren.

My grandparents were Sicilian immigrants and I saw and lived first hand the life the author has described in this book. As I turned each page and read each chapter I felt as though I had been taken back in time. I've purchased a book for each of my children so they'll have a reference as to how life was "back then".

This is a beautifully written story of growing up and life in Ybor City, an ethnic community of Spaniards, Cubans and Sicilians in Tampa Florida during the mid 1900's. It captures, perfectly,that time and place; the people, the cigar factories they worked in, the conflicts, and above all, the love of and importance of family.
A poignant memoir!