Frank Books

I enjoyed this book very much. It was a great story of a shy little boy named Robert. I'm shy too sometimes so I can relate to him. And who hasn't been bullied at school? I'm glad he finally stood up for himself. It was a sad ending but it felt right. People live, people die. That's just the way things are.

Awesome book, reminiscent of David Almond's Skellig. Robert becomes a hero when he faces the room at the top of Chance House. Not only does he rescue Edith Sorrel from death, if only briefly, but he saves himself from the frightened boy who is bullied by others. There is a magical quality to the writing that transports the reader to the places so hauntingly described in the book.

My gradmother gave this book to me for my last birthday. When I read the back of the book, I pretty well made up my mind that this isn't the kind of book for me. When I was getting to the end of my book pile this summer, I figured that it was about time to read it. And now, I'm very glad that I did! This book inspired me to follow my dreams, and not many novels have done this. It says in the last chapter, it says that luck is something that you have to make for yourself, which I found a very interesting perspective. I would recommend this book to anyone who is feeling left-out or under any strong emotion. This book truly lifts your spirits, and makes you feel like you can fly.

Not much is more cruel than the way young people may treat the one they consider to be the "class nerd." Such is the case with Robert Nobel, often called "Norbert" by his primary bully, Jonathan Niker.

Like every other youngster Roberts wants to have friends, to be recognized as a person of value. It seems this will not happen until he takes part in what is called the Elders Project, an endeavor in which members of his class visit the elderly residents of a rest home. Jonathan considers these older folks "vegetables," but Robert sees something more and this is a vision that changes his life.

Edith, thought to be quite a bit off, becomes Robert's friend and it is through her story that he eventually finds himself.

Director/actor Philip Franks invests understanding and suspense into this unforgettably moving tale.

- Gail Cooke

Very enjoyable, loving, entertaining and a definate for cat lovers. I just need to know where I can purchase the book?
Please email me that information. Thank you.

My brother and I fell on the ground laughing hysterically at the illustrations and captions--although this was 9 years ago
we still get a good laugh out of it. We almost got kicked out of the bookstore for disturbing the others.

As a life-long cat LOVER, I was suprised to find myself laughing hysterically at nearly every page in this book. The pictures and the light-hearted text are too cute and silly to be taken as malicious. The best advice - wait.

I got this book up at a used book store, I love it! It's hilarious, and I have to keep telling my mom not to let our siamese cat see it. It's one of my 3 books I always have on hand, and I read it all the time. My fave exits are turkey and microwave. Makes a good coffee table book, and a good gift, cat-lover or cat-hater. Just DON'T get any ideas! Have fun!

I have been fishing for trophy trout in stillwaters in the western US and Canada for over 40 years and have a library that includes more than 150 books on trout fishing - many on lake fishing. If I had to pick one book on stillwater trout fishing I couldn't do without, it would be this one!! Indepth coverage of all the important aspects of how to catch trout in lakes - especially imitation of food items. Simple line drawings get the information across very adequately - better than a lot of fancy pictures might in other publications. Fly fishers of all levels will benefit from reading this book - it is not just for the beginner or intermediate fly angler. Contains more information than a lot of books that cost 3-4 times as much.

Mike Croft has done an exceptional job of concisely explaining Stillwater fishing in a way that even a dummy like me can understand. His use of humor and his own drawings is a welcome change from the usual droll tomes on fly-fishing that are generally published today. Some may call it a comic book and I suppose that in some ways it is. But, it is the most informative comic book you'll ever read. Buy the book and I'm sure you'll see what I mean.

I found this book to be a very informative "must read" for the beginner as well as intermediate fly fishers. It's fun to read and the amount of tips will definitely enhance one's enjoyment on the water as well as increase your catch rate.

Imagine that classic, fully-illustrated, introduction-to-flyfishing of the Disco Era, The Curtis Creek Manifesto, all grown up and gone to grad school. Way more sophisticated in its approach to the subject matter and its style of art, Mike Croft has created a seriously fun, illustrated reference for unrepentant, stillwater bigtrout-o-holics. It sports more usable, hardwon information for the frogwater flyfisher than can be found in an armload of current how-tos. This book rocks!

Frank Deford did us one injustice! He never wrote another book about Roller Derby. If anyone could bring the excitment and drama of the banked track, with an understanding of it's history into a fast moving book, Frank Deford deserves an A+. A true must have for any banked track skating fan, or sports fan in general!

THIS WAS A GREAT BOOK. THERE ISN'T VERY MANY BOOKS ABOUT
ROLLER DERBY OUT THERE, SO IF YOU WANT TO READ A REAL LIFE
HARD KNOCKS BOOK ABOUT, IT THIS IS THE ONE. GREAT JOB MR. Deford!

This book is a must have if you were a fan of the IRDL's Roller Derby. The behind the scenes history of the sport and its skaters is excellent reading. It's too good to be out of print. Someone should reprint this book so that all Roller Derby fans can have their own copy.

If you were a fan of the original Roller Derby--and not Roller Games, or what it turned into--this is the book to find. If you can buy a copy, do so. Tells the whole story til about 1970. O'Connell, Joanie, Calvello, Ronnie Robinson, Jerry Seltzer--the whole gang's here at their zenith.

I just read the individual issues. Great, smart, fun stuff which has aged quite well.

"Flex Mentallo" was supposed to be released as a trade paperback in 1998 or so, but humorless men in suits who represented the Charles Atlas Company put a stop to that. Why? It's a sad, pathetic story. Flex, a character wholly created by Morrison, made his first appearance in Morrison's joyously avant garde "Doom Patrol" series (I believe it was in issue #35; I'm too lazy to dig out the issue to confirm). When he first appeared, Flex looked more like Alan Moore than a hulking he-man: bearded, grimy, wrapped up in a dirty trench coat. Eventually he realized who he was: "The Man of Muscle Mystery," and regained his normal appearance - basically, he was the spitting image of Charles Atlas, complete with leopard-skin trunks.

Flex's origin is also a hilarious parody of those old Charles Atlas funnybook advertisements. You know: skinny dweeb gets picked on by beach bully, sends away for a muscle-building manual. Only the manual Flex received taught him all sorts of esoteric uses for his muscles; now, each muscle was capable of a different power. For example, flexing his bicep might result in an earthquake, flexing his lats might allow him to see the future. And just to really hammer home the Atlas parody, every time Flex strikes his "hero pose," the words "Hero of the Beach" float above him: the exact same slogan that hovered above the character in the Charles Atlas ads.

The issues of "Doom Patrol" with Flex didn't cause any trouble, and this series, published about 5 years later, didn't either. So what happened? Apparently, an overzealous fan brought the "Flex Mentallo" series to the attention of Charles Atlas Company representatives, more out of a "hey, you guys might think this is funny" attitude than anything else. Unfortunately, Atlas saw no humor in it, and threatened DC/Vertigo (the publishers of "Doom Patrol" and "Flex Mentallo") with a lawsuit. Long story short: DC won the case, but the verdict was that a percentage of the profits of anything published in the future featuring Flex would go to the Charles Atlas company. It is only now, years later, that DC is getting around to publishing the remaining issues of Morrison's "Doom Patrol" in trade paperback form, and DC reps claim that it is only sales of these that will promise a "Flex Mentallo" collection. In other words, DC has spent so much money on this lawsuit, they now will only publish "Flex" if the "Doom Patrol" trades sell exceptionally well.

But what about the comic itself? "Flex Mentallo" could easily be seen as Grant Morrison's masterwork, though I still prefer "The Invisibles." "Flex" is not only a celebration of superheroic myth, but also of comics themselves. Each issue represents a different "era" of comics, and the narrative is post-modern and fractured to a point. It's also one of the more literary comics out there, and will no doubt turn away those looking for mindless action and violence. "Flex" would appeal to only a select few readers; its fame these days is no doubt due to its rarity, but also to the rising fame of Morrison and Quitely (who later worked together on "New X-Men.")

Issue #1 gives tribute to the "Golden Age," those comics from the `30s and `40s with simple good-versus-evil plots, where the hero usually won by knocking the villain out cold. We see that "Flex" seemingly takes place in a different reality than the "Doom Patrol" comics; no mention is made of the Patrol or any other DC heroes. Flex is about to enjoy an egg sandwich in the local diner when a shadowy figure hurls a bomb at a group of people. Flex uses his muscles to scan the bomb, and it turns out to be a fake. The police call Flex in for help in the investigation; turns out these fake bombs are showing up everywhere. Flex suspects that his old partner-in-crimefighting, The Fact, is somehow involved, and resolves to get to the bottom of it. Meanwhile, in another narrative, a young rock star named Wallace Sage, the man who created Flex as a child, has just taken loads of drugs in a bid for suicide, and calls up the Samaritans. All he wants to do is talk about comic books before he dies.

Issue #2 is the "Silver Age," the weird and psychedelic comics of the `50s and `60s. Flex continues his quest to find The Fact. Along the way he reminisces about his past adventures, all of them Silver Age-type goofiness. (The issue also features one of the very best splash pages I've ever seen: a shot of Flex squaring off against his Silver Age nemesis "The Mentallium Man.") First Flex comes across a group of delinquents who are shooting up with a lethal drug that unleashes the hero within. Then he discovers there is a group of superheroes who might be able to help him; apparently they're the last such group of costumed fighters left in the world. They're called "The Legion of Legions," and Flex sets off to find them. Meanwhile, Wallace Sage continues his drug-hazed diatribe with the Samaritans, espousing on his love of comics. He also tries unsuccessfully to free a buried memory, something that happened to him as a child.

Issue #3 is the "Dark Age," those `70s and `80s comics that swayed into nihilism, with heroes just as dangerous as the villains: comics like Frank Miller's "Dark Knight Returns." Journeying into the underground of the nameless city this takes place in, Flex begins to question the bizarre adventures he had back in the Silver Age; very nice commentary by Morrison on the incongruity of continuity-heavy comics. Things get even more unreal as Flex discovers an underground club for "adult superheroes." Here Frank Quitely unleashes every costume he can think of, as we witness at least a hundred different heroes in various, exquisitely-detailed costumes engaging in all manner of "adult" situations. It's a costumed orgy, and Flex warily makes his way through it, trying to find the transporter tube that will take him to the Legion of Legions headquarters. Wallace Sage continues his soul-plumbing, and finally remembers his suppressed memory - as a child, he actually met a group of superheroes. And in a third narrative, the crusty police chief from issue #1 hooks up with supervillain "The Hoaxer," and the two of them set off to find Flex and help him "save the world."

Issue #4 is the "New Age," or what I gather Morrison hopes comics will one day be: positive myths in which readers discover that they themselves are superheroes. But first we witness how actual superheroes invaded our reality, centuries ago, as their reality was destroyed in a "Crisis on Infinite Earths"-type tragedy. Crashing into our reality, they embedded themselves in our imaginations; this is why comic books were invented, Wallace Sage realizes. The heroes in our subconscious are using them to show us WHO we can really be; we're all heroes, ourselves. The crusty chief and The Hoaxer pass through the "adult club" from issue #3, finding everyone there dead. The two of them use the transporter tube to go to the Legion of Legion headquarters, and there they team up with Flex to defeat the "villain" behind everything, a man-on-the-moon faced opponent who turns out to be none other than Wallace Sage. Or Wally, that is - here he is a cynical teenager who confuses "realism with pessimism," as Flex puts it. Flex gets the best line in the series here, when he tells Wally: "Being clever's a fine thing, but sometimes a boy just needs to get out of the house and meet some girls." The series ends with Wallace Sage rejoicing in the hero within, and the formerly-repressed superheroes of our imaginations being set free into our world.

But that's just a recap of the narrative elements of "Flex Mentallo." There's a lot going on in this series. In many ways it's even an autobiography, as a lot of Wallace Sage's memories are no doubt Grant Morrison's own. Even the illustrations are post-modern, referencing other comics in both style and manner. There are also little in-jokes; in issue #2, Flex goes to a coffee shop, and you can easily spot Clark Kent and Ozymandius (from "Watchmen") dining inside. Morrison is on-form throughout, and it's easy to see why he considers this to be one of the best things he's written. (Incidentally, the fact that "Flex" has been blocked from publication as a trade collection sends Morrison into fits of rage.)

Frank Quitely's artwork is a joy to behold. Quitely's style is a mixture of cartoonish and finely-detailed. It doesn't look like anyone else I can think of, and his art here is without question the best I've ever seen in a comic. His work on "Flex Mentallo" is probably his best ever, and even Morrison stated it was "the most beautiful artwork to ever grace one of my scripts." Quitely himself once claimed "Flex Mentallo" was "more important than the Bible for comic fans," returning the compliment.

So, let's hope one day soon you'll be able to press "add to shopping cart" immediately after reading this review. DC has made several positive comments recently about "Flex" being published in trade form, so don't spend an arm and a leg on those back issues. Have faith, because it seems fairly certain that this book will appear someday. The sooner the better - when I'm in the mood for a re-reading, I'm usually too lazy to get the issues out of storage. Pretty lazy, I know. Flex needs to give me a good talkin' to.

This trade collection of Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely's FLEX MENTALO # 1 - 4 was never published, due to questionable legal issues. Still, I can provide some info for those interested.

The character of Flex Mentallo first appeared in DC Comics' DOOM PATROL #35 (by Morrison and Richard Case), looking like a character from a 1950s Charles Atlas advertisement and sporting an origin story that was a parody of Atlas' comic "The Insult That Made a Man out of Mac". There the resemblance ended, however, as the mysterious bodybuilding course he received granted his individual muscles all sorts of super powers, such as altering reality or seeing the future. It was all done in fun, no one was hurt, and things went on as normal.

In 1996, Morrison and Quitely's FLEX MENTALLO mini-series expanded on the character, to much critical acclaim, and DC Comics was slapped with a lawsuit by Charles Atlas Ltd., claiming that the character had damaged their trademark. The prosecution failed to prove that the damage occured, but for some reason I can't fathom, DC agreed to not reprint the miniseries in trade format. Quite a shame, as FLEX MENTALLO was another of Morrison's brilliant examinations of the comic book medium, focusing (as with ANIMAL MAN) on the after-effects of DC's CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS.

NOW HEAR THIS: DC has recently announced that they will be reprinting Grant Morrison's entire DOOM PATROL run in trade format. Hopefully, this will somehow include the Flex Mentallo appearances...

Flex Mentallo, in one sense, was a spin-off of Grant Morrison's work on the Doom Patrol. In another, it was a compression of his entire five-year run on the Invisibles shot through a superhero comic.

People who aren't intimately familiar with comic book mythos might be a bit confused, if not outright lost, by the sheer volume of references that give this book a lot of its kick. However, there is still a damn good tale about madness, death, isolation, love, magick, the people we could have been and the people we were.

The fact that Morrison manages to cram this into four short comic books is a testament not only to his skill as a writer, but also to the power of the medium.

Of course, that's all a moot point, because due to copyright issues, this trade will probably never be published. Still, if you can find the individual issues, they are well worth it.

Once you have the basic skills, this book will carry you the rest of the way. It does not include esoteric techniques but those can be looked up at the library or online. This is the one book I keep next to my fly tying setup.

Not much how - to in this book. this is the book you are looking for if you are an intermediate tier or thinking of going commercial. It is recognized WORLD WIDE and has many many many patterns and recipes.
It won't bog you down with instruction on how to use or apply the material, but gives you a clear image of the fly, and lists what material is used for hook, body, tail, etc. A great suppliment to your tying desk if you would like to work on some professional looking flies.
Certainly in the must have category

This book is my all time favorite. It has all the flies that I enjoy to tie. I open this book every time I sit down to tie flies, although it isn't something I do often anymore. I enjoy the quality of the photographs in this book for me to compare my own work too. The books arrangement of the flies was well done and makes for quick reference to find what I'm looking to make. I thank the people who were all involved in making this book for the amount of interest it provokes in me for flyting.

Randy Stetzer's selection of flies for "The Best One Thousand" is clearly the fly pattern index of choice. The fly selection covers warmwater, saltwater, deerhair, dries, nymphs and streamers and even includes some fanciful unique flies. This book doesn't include flies that are localized creations...each pattern has been accepted world-wide.

If you are interested in the hurricane history of any special state or region, this is probably the finest work of its kind written to date. Following a superb introduction to our subject, the author describes every significant or noteworthy storm to hit Florida since the 1700's. Each entry includes a map showing the storm's track through the state. We learn of the unique impact each had on the sunshine state. Some hurricanes, of course, like Agnes, had major impacts outside of Florida, and Barnes writes of these as well. Looking through these pages also shows us the cyclical nature of storms. In some years disaster hit several times, while other periods (like the 70's), saw little activity of any kind.

I found this edition to be much better than the author's NC one, if for no other reason than Florida's more active history! While some hurricanes listed in the other book may be of interest mostly to locals, the ones here, like the Labor Day and Miami storm, are truly important historically. I would hope Barnes is writing on the hurricane history of other states as well.

My earliest memory was Hurricane Donna, and I have been intrigued by hurricanes ever since. This book offers a considerable amount of historical data along with fascinating accounts. Highly recommended to anybody who would like to learn more about the history of hurricanes in Florida.

Great photos, and all the detail you could ever want on Florida hurricanes. The survival stories are frightening! All the weather data is there. It's a great resource for us hurricane junkies!

What a great book. We've enjoyed the stories of the memorable storms like Donna, Andrew, and Opal and the effect theyve had on generations of Florida residents. The 1926 Miami and 1928 Okeechobee are well covered. Also very interesting reading on those storms we've never heard of. The photographs are stunning-and frightening. Its organized well, and the reading is not too technical. It stays on our coffee table.

I think the reviewer below summed it well in his subject line saying "McLuhan for the coffee table." Essentially this book is a list of one-liners and ideas of McLuhans. Snippets and paragraphs from books and articles. Could very well be for the beginner, but without explanitory notes (but with pictures); while it could also be for the person already well versed in McLuhans thoughts. Either way, I found it a great book as I find his thinking fascinating, curious and many times humerous. Well presented in large paperback format with slick paper and color photos, this book is a quick and easy McLuhan treat.

Forward through the Rearview Mirror: Reflections on and by Marshall McLuhan can be considered one of the greatest tributes McLuhan could have ever received. By preserving the particular organization, writing style, and design McLuhan used in The Medium is the Massage and Global Village, editors Paul Benedetti and Nancy DeHart are able to keep his soul and ideology alive. Insights not only from McLuhan himself, but also from many other media theorists who react and share their experiences about the readings, are the editor's elements to explain what was going on deeply inside McLuhan's mind.

As the MTV programming, this book has a continuous flow in which each chapter looks like a new video clip, which is totally related with the preceding, and flows directly into the following. However, instead of creating these connections with complete paragraphs and nice connectors, the editors choose to throw isolated pieces of pictures, paragraphs and quotations. It is the inner most meaning of every written and visual piece what makes a unified theory out of this book. A new way of communication which McLuhan would define as "Any new structure for codifying experience and moving information, be it alphabet or photography, has the power of imposing its structural character and assumptions upon all levels of our private and social lives" (106). Therefore, a chapter named "Violence and Identity" will start with a two-page-black and white picture of a Ku Klux Klan's ritual followed by a quotation: "Violence, whether spiritual or physical, is a quest for identity and the meaningful. The less identity, the more violence." On the next page, a picture of a ten-year-old child wearing latex gloves and a gun in each hand; then, McLuhan's theory is introduced with big blue letters: "IT'S WHY THEY HAVE TO KILL," and so forth. This continuous fluidity of meaningful images and writings, involves the audience in an exciting rhythm, making it interact and experience what McLuhan was trying to say by "The Medium is the Message."

Instead of having a defined introduction, body and conclusion, Forward through a Rearview Mirror is composed of three different types of writing: biographical information, writings by McLuhan, and writings on McLuhan. Each one of them is placed by the editors to ease the reader's understanding of McLuhan's speech. Information about his background, life, and surroundings is provided by a timeline that covers his most important years: his experiences at different stages of his career, the birth of his own family, and his social life. All these factors influenced his way of analyzing our culture. From interviews, speeches, and books, Benedetti and DeHart quote McLuhan to provide objective information about his insights. Because most of his citations are abstract aphorisms, the audience can read his words either superficially or deeply, stimulated by the adventure of discovering his hidden insights, always present in his works. However, the reader is not alone in this adventure. Other media theorists such as John Fraser or Lewis Laphom share their experiences when reading the philosopher. Moreover, as the biographical information, these media producers also help to guide the reader by providing him/her with different analysis and points of view towards McLuhan. Although the book doesn't follow the conventional three-part linearity, it seems custom made for the rushing reader of the nineties. It doesn't matter on which page we open Forward through the Rearview Mirror. It can always provide an interesting analysis of our own society.

However, Paul Benedetti and Nancy DeHart do not only keep McLuhan's organization and writing style, but also preserve his idea of convey insights using the visual medium. Therefore, Forward Through the Rearview Mirror is designed to the image of McLuhan's major works The Medium is the Massage and Global Village. These two books submerge the reader into a multidimensional medium of meaningful abstract and figurative visuals. For instance, the editors create the same type of metaphors that McLuhan employed in his publications, by explaining the world's current globalization with ten bottles of Coca-Cola all written in different languages. Moreover, as Marshall McLuhan's last works, the unconventional format of this book also stands out in the reader's library. While both the medium is the massage and Global Village are smaller than any standard size book, Forward through the Rearview Mirror is wider and shorter than any conventional book.

Forward through the Rearview Mirror shows the complete involvement of Paul Benedetti and Nancy DeHart in McLuhan's life and ideas. Following Marshall McLuhan's guidelines, they carefully place each element in their book to create an outstanding piece. From its outside cover to its inner most meaning, this book breaks all standards, thus, draws the attention from an audience willing to find a new and high-quality product. Guided by McLuhan's print media by juxtaposing significant images and phrases to create movement and rhythm. When experiencing this book, the reader combines the sound of his reading and the meaningful visuals inside his mind, creating an audio-visual medium out of Forward the through the Rearview Mirror. If this phenomenon is achieved, McLuhan's theory is confirmed: "It is man who is content of the message of the media, which are extensions of himself" DeHart and Benedetti understand McLuhan, preserving his thoughts alive, and honor him in their piece of art.

Without trying to undermine the insights of McLuhan himself, I think that this book represents just another episode in the `everybody loves Marshall' series. Similar to `Digital McLuhan' by Levinson, this book is crawling with remarks stating how great and wonderful McLuhan was and that it is such a big loss for the world as we know that he's dead. I sincerely wish that - as McLuhan put it himself - the comments would engage more in a dynamic discours on his insights and thoughts and would try to make something out of it. But no, I find myself flipping through oodles of pages for the simple reason that it just contains one of those trival McLuhan-anecdotes/memorabilia. Supposedly McLuhan made it to the top ten of all-time thinkers - such as Nietzsche, Kant, Plato etc. Sure, the insights provided by him are pretty slick, but one has to look for them since most of the books concern the opinions of others that would also like to say a thing or two. It's like a bunch of groupies standing at the far end of a stage thinking that they now too are famous. As far the rest of the book is concerned, there are some nice quotes from McLuhan himself that could very well change your perspective on things happening in our world today. It provides some interesting insights and line of thought for further study. Respect goes out to the extensive bibliography that make it easier to trace back his work. It is truly `McLuhan for the coffee-table', but mind you, there might be a lot of uninvited guests.

If McLuhan is new to you, and/or if you have a short attention span, this is the one to pick up. McLuhan's timeless insights into the evolution of man's synthesized environment are juxtaposed with in-your-face photographs and artwork that serve as indisputable evidence of the truth of his analysis. Reading this book at 30,000 feet, I was struck at just how clearly McLuhan is able to penetrate the distraction, distortion, and pre- conceptions endemic to modern technical civilization. The book is indeed like a high altitude surveillance flight over the electomagnetic infrastructure of our age. The combination of images and text have a synergy imploring the reader to understand the accelerating importance of man's media in shaping his behavior. Serve with "Propaganda", by Jacques Ellul, and "Manufacturing Consent", by Noam Chomsky and Edward S. Herman.

A thought-provoking read about a truly remarkable life. I found The Frank Conspiracy absorbing, touching and shocking. Not all glamour and excitement, a spy's existence is dangerous and lonely. A tremendous book.

I couldn't put this book down. Powerful, poignant, vivid, evocative, ultimately inspiring. Every woman and man will gain a deeper understanding to the meaning of life when they read this captivating book. There's nothing else like it on the market, it really is unique. I recommend you read it before they make the movie. Not just spies, its about one woman's fight against injustice, its about love and death, its about thrills and spills, its about religion and politics, its about everything important. This book is my bible, its so sparky and compelling I've read it again and again.

Spy Olivia Frank battles against injustice to expose a shocking British Secret Intelligence Service (MI6) plot to assassinate the life of a well-known multi-millionaire who was forced into exile from the United Kingdom. A real eyeopener it lifts the lid on a despicable scandal to dupe the public. A true story it was filmed by UK television investigator Roger Cook's The Cook Report, too hot to transmit so buy it before they ban it!

A real eye-opener, exciting, moving, ultimately inspiring. A book for everyone, it uncovers the cloak and dagger world of spies and reveals the hardships encountered by a genuine spy. I found myself unable to put this down and told all my friends they must read it too. An extraordinary story about real people. find out what's going on.

After searching for a cookbook to produce fish entrees at home that are in the style of Pappadeaux in Houston or Mulate's in Louisiana or even Galatoire's in New Orleans, I will assert that THIS IS THE ONE. The Brennan books made my head swim with baking beef bones to produce broth ingredients and boiling shrimp tails to make fish stock, and on and on. Frank Davis explains clearly and simply, without condescending, how to make seafood dishes that taste really good. He even lists possible variations on the recipes, and which fish to buy. This is a wonderful cookbook.

I have borrowed afriend's book long enough - time to have my own. I enjoy using it - others will also.

This is my kind of cooking book. It's not just a cookbook, but a textbook on seafood also. The first several chapters are just on purchacing, handling, and cooking techniques for many types of seafood. Then, the cookbook section is loaded with great recipes. Frank has a great personality. He's great to watch on tv here in New Orleans, and his humor and knowledge really come through. If you like books such as this that take you "to school", try "The Bread Baker's Apprentice" by Peter Reinhart.

Written as a textbook of sorts, entirely in narrative script, this book actually teaches you how to cook seafood as opposed to how to follow just one singular recipe. It is chock full of valuable information dealing with culinary procedures, use and application of spices, techniques for preparing everything from boiled blue crabs to beer-battered alligator, and the only complete listing of every single fish that swims the waters of the Northern Gulf of Mexico and how to cook them! But the recipes themselves are special--not only unique to the famed cuisine of the Crescent City but so simple to follow and easy to prepare, both for the novice cook as well as the professional chef. It is truly one of those books a serious cook interested in preparing seafood the proper way needs to have on his or her bookshelves, and it is certainly one of those books you'll feel compelled to read from cover to cover for pure entertainment and enrichment.