Frank Books

My husband loves to fish, I'm not too crazy about fish. This book is an excellent source of fish recipes. We use them on all types of fish and they are wonderful. If you're tired of fried, barbequed, and poached fish this book is a must. You'll find recipes ranging from very basic and simple to those with an exotic foreign flare; but all are easy to prepare in your own kitchen.

This is a great book for cooking salmon and steelhead. We have used numerous recipes, all are great! Our favorites include bisque and smoked salmon bread. To die for! We have given this book as gifts to others who are equally impressed!

This is by far one of the best cookbooks I own. My family eats salmon at least once a week so a book devotely specifically to enhance the flavors of salmon is just a lifesaver. After trying out a few of the recipes (which are all delicious and made with household ingredients), I bought the book for my father (an avid fisherman who just LOVES the recipes) and my sister (who uses the recipes on other types of fish and says they are still great). The recipes are simple yet tasty and you can modify each recipe for a smaller meal (I cook individual steaks or fillets with a different recipe for one meal depending on my family's taste). If you EVER cook fish I recommend this book. It is divided into sections for all types of cooking - appetizers, soups, one-dish meals, entrees, plank cooking, and a great section on how to prepare your fish from catching it to eating it. I can't say enough good things.

True life exploits of Charles Roy Siringo in the old west bringing many fugitives to justive while enduring hard ships!

This is a great book if you're into the American West, The Wild Bunch, or just a detective fan.
Charlie Siringo must have been one of the toughest men who ever lived...15 years in the saddle as a cowboy, followed by 22 years as a Pinkerton detective!
Charlie writes as a detective would...mostly, it's just the facts. He writes in an easy to read style that seems to flow from him in a natural manner. His stories are amazing, and he was surely a 'walking national treasure'in terms of his first hand knowledge of the American West 1865-1900.
I can't believe he is so 'forgotten' as one of the west's real and true heroes. A terrific insight into the times and the man.

Charles Siringo was the real deal, the rare 1870's cowboy who experienced the trail rides of the Wild West, but also felt the need and had the desire to put his experiences in writing. The stories in his books seem to be honest and legit, not inflated or self-indulgent. He was a man of great courage and resoursefulness, and the stories in this book are full of real-life examples. I have read several of Siringo's writings, and have found this book to be the most enjoyable and fascinating of them all.

If you are a social worker, psychologist, or work in criminology, this is the book for you. Loaded with facts, statisitcs, and much more on animal abuse and the connection to human violence. Includes the human animal bond and research from many case studies.

If you need proof in court; say for a domestic dispute, YOU NEED THIS BOOK!

The ultimate reference book for anyone concerned about the all too common acts of deadly violence committed by youth. Recent reports claim that both Colorado shooters had a history of animal cruelty. Animal cruelty is often a precurser to other acts of violence including child, spouse or partner and elder abuse. This book gives professionals, students and concerned citizens an understanding of that connectedness and emphasizes the need for a hoslistic approach to violence prevention.

This book is the ideal graduation gift for anyone earning degrees in psychology, criminology, social work, education, or anthropology. It is a must read for veterinary and medical school graduates. The perfect end-of-the-year teacher appreciation gift is Cruelty to Animals and Interpersonal Violence Readings in Research and Application edited by Randall Loockwood and Frank R. Ascione.

This is truly the definitive book on the subject of animal cruelty and human violence. Nationally renowned experts, Dr. Randall Lockwood and Dr. Frank Ascione have put together an excellent resource for anyone concerned about violence. All the information you could ever need is finally in one place! Whether you are a social worker, police officer, teacher, student, researcher, concerned parent or neighbor, this book will provide you with information on how animal cruelty is connected to child abuse, domestic violence, elder abuse, youth violence and even murder. Because of this important book, animal cruelty is finally beginning to be recognized as a serious crime, as well as a predictor or indicator of other criminal behavior. A MUST HAVE resource!

Reviewed by Danielle Feliciano for Reader Views (4/06)

In his collection of short stories "Crumpet Strumpet," Frank Sobo has stripped himself of any pretence of political correctness and has given the reader stories that are truly human. He has a unique way of looking at the world, and his gift with words allows the reader to see the world in the same way. Mr. Sobo can take any situation and make it interesting. His stories lead you in one direction, only to change direction at the last minute. They take you to places that one's mind does not tend to go, and you will enjoy every minute of the trip.

"Crumpet Strumpet" is not for the meek or the bashful. Mr. Sobo's wording is edgy and even crass at times. He points out those things that most of humanity would choose to ignore. He easily makes fun of himself, and those around him. Mr. Sobo has succeeded in telling the types of stories we all wish we had the guts to tell. His stories provide not only humor, but insight into the human condition.

It was either Frank Sobo(cienski) and/or Frenchy Fuqua, former running back for the Pittsburgh Steelers, who wore platform shoes with clear, hollow, plastic heels, which were filled with water and agitated goldfish. Although I can believe that Frank was the owner of such a pair of dandy shoes, it seems that he may have been simply admiring Frenchy's flamboyant wardrobe and wistfully waxing on about the benefits and joys of walking around while goldfish regurgitate incessantly in the miniature but violent tsunami that was created in the heels of those mid-1970's platform "disco" shoes. Neither of Frank's books of anecdotal chapters has covered this event, but it seems like a story that will appear at some point or another.

Lucky for us, Frank is an accomplished and critical observer of the human condition -- good and bad, sublime and ridiculous, absurd and practical. And, if you are one of the unlucky ones who have not heard Frank tell a story, which he is prone to do at the drop of the proverbial hat, reading "DNA Stew" and/or "Crumpet Strumpet" will give you a glimpse into the mind of a man who approaches life with a twisted sense of humor and an eye towards "screwing with you" as much as possible. Thankfully, political correctness does not have a place in Frank's world unless he is about to harpoon it in some humorous or sacrilegious manner.

A friend once told me that he was not equipped to write a good book or script because he was too young and that he had not experienced enough of what life has to offer, especially the bad or unfortunate events that are supposed to build character. Frank was born to report his experiences and observations, even if they are often figments of his distorted and rampant imagination. One thing is for sure: Frank certainly has a knack for telling a story and we are all lucky for that.

Crumpet Strumpet will make the feathers on a dove blush, and cause book-banners to faint before they can take aim. If you cannot take a joke, or laugh at yourself, or if you pretend you've never heard or said the seven things you cannot say on radio or T.V., then pass on this book and go buy "Little Women" (not that there's anything wrong with "Little Women"). However, if you enjoy the human condition, understand that even centerfold movie-starlets have to use the bathroom now and again, then this is the book for you. A collection of short stories and essays that defies pigeon-holing, Crumpet Strumpet, for all its in-your-face writing, presents a mature level of writing, story-telling, and insight into real life. It's the sort of book you read in short spurts, before bed, the train ride in, the work break. And it will cause you to poke an elbow into your buddy's rib and say, "I've got to tell you about this one." The piece "Umberto" lands in the center of pure brilliance. Last, the cover alone is worth the price of admission. My word, what people can make out of snow.

Cultures of Devotion, Graziano's most recent book, articulates the balances of belief, hope and bargaining between the people of Spanish America and their saints. Graziano's keen and thorough sense of academic investigation is evident throughout the book, as is his humor, curiosity, and willingness to interface with beliefs "jeopardized if reason elbows in with its complications." Graziano's photographs complement the text, as does his website, www.culturesofdevotion.com. The relationship between the people, their folk saints and the Catholic Church seems to somewhat parallel the influences of Christian faith on Traditional Native American belief and the contemporary responses of the Native American people. Overall, the book is an interesting and informative read for anyone interested in intersections of culture, faith, and reality.

I bought this book after hearing Graziano speak, and I'm really glad I did. In many places it reads like a novel; in others the insights into folk devotion are incredible. The website, [...], is amazing too. Highly recommended.

Great scholarship and a great read don't often go together, but they do in this book. Graziano shows how a folk-saint cult emerges, and why has value for its devotees. The reader steps into alternative understandings of life, and explores the intimate world of Latin Americans with anthropological depth and without theoretical trappings.

The popularity of a folk saint rests on his or her reputation for miracles, according to the extensive site research done by the author. Devotees petition their chosen saint with explicit contracts- if you do X for me I promise to do Y for you. The supplications are wide-ranging and universal: health, wealth, love, revenge. Much social conversation revolves around offerings and strategies reputed to prompt hoped-for miracles. Intermediaries are often involved, but they rarely dominate the devotion. Worship is flexible and open to individual impulses. Graziano suggests that this is why folk saints are popular despite disapproval from the Catholic institutions whose images and rituals the devotions draw on.

The creativity of these worshippers and the deprivations that motivate them make for a penetrating and moving look at humanity.

A thrilling book. I couldn't put it down. The author writes in a way that makes it seem like a movie. I could picture each scene & event as if I was watching it in person. I had trouble putting the book down to go to work. All I wanted to do was to see what would happen next. Everyone interested in excitment & a visual treat should read this book.

If you want a thriller you won't be able to put down, then pick up a copy of Marshall Frank's "Dire Straits." From beginning to end Frank takes you on a ride of thrills and adventure while intertwining a harrowing week for the three main characters. Not only does the author know how to tell a great story, but his characters come to life in the pages. I have to agree with Edna Buchanan--"'Dire Straits' takes your breath away."

This is one book you will not be able to put down. I purchased this book when I attended a book fair at which Mr. Frank was a featured author. I bought DIRE STRAITS and read it in two days.
I intend to read every one of his books. As a former law enforcement officer, I appreciate his attention to authenticity and his depiction of the various personalities and issues present in a law enforcement agency. He has a new fan!

In New York City the battle against White dispossession was lost long ago but there are still a significant number of Whites who reside in the Rotten Apple. Like Whites in many areas of America, those in New York City must deal with hate crimes, common crime, high taxes, lack of government services and official discrimination in education and employment.
Unlike Whites in most of America, New Yorkers have someone publicly fighting for them.

Until very recently, Frank Borzellieri was a newspaper columnist for the Queens Ledger newspaper group, cable talk show host and elected school board member in the borough of Queens. His outspoken stands for conservative causes have earned him national television appearances on programs such as Fox Sunday Morning, Geraldo Rivera and Michael Moore's TV Nation.

Don't Take It Personally is Borzellieri's second book and is a collection of some of his favorite newspaper columns. Most of his articles deal with race, immigration, crime and the "culture wars." The book has an excellent introduction from Sam Francis, who praises the author for being perhaps the only pro-White columnist still writing for a mainstream newspaper.

Borzellieri, who often writes with a biting sense of humor, sets the stage for his book in the introduction. "The writings in this book received quite a reaction when they first appeared. Compiling them in a collection opens them up to a whole new audience (and to liberal reviewers who will cringe, yet again). I challenge them all not to take it personally, but to attempt to refute my arguments using intelligent reasoning - a quality liberals sorely lack."

The first section of Don't Take It Personally is on culture and includes essays titled, "O.J. Still Searching for Real Killer," "The Fallacy of Environmental Racism," and "AIDS: The Great White Plot." Perhaps the best column in this section is "Was Cleopatra Black?" After piling on the evidence that the ancient Egyptians were not black, Borzellieri observes, "When concocting the fable that some ancient people were Negroid, the Egyptians were probably the worst choice. Quite inconveniently, the Egyptians left mummies."

The second section is devoted to race and genetics.
Articles include, "For Whom the Bell Curve Tolls," "No Quotas Needed in Sports," and "The Biological Reality of Race." Of note is the column, "Why It Matters,"
which discusses the trials of New York City University professor Michael Levin, a philosopher and contributor to AR. Borzellieri writes, "The government makes, as its official rationale for discriminating against Whites and Asians through affirmative action, quotas, set-asides and favoritism, a policy which denies that there are racial differences in intelligence. That is, a policy which has no basis in fact and for which there is no evidence."

The politics and government section of the book is more wide ranging and covers several areas outside of race, including the problem with socialized health care, judicial activism and the coming social security meltdown. But even in this section the author manages to maintain his focus on racial issues. A column titled, "Race Commission Report a Farce," examines President Clinton's 1997 "Dialogue on Race."

Borzellieri notes the stacked panel never really intended a dialogue on race. If it did, it would consider such politically incorrect questions as, "Why is there so much Black crime? What really causes White flight? Why do Asians succeed where Blacks fail?"

The fourth section of the book is dedicated to crime and gun control. Of note here is the article, "Some Hate Crimes More Equal Than Others." In it, the author examines the national media attention given to attacks by Whites against homosexual Matthew Sheppard and a Black man, James Byrd. He compares this reaction with the total lack of attention given to hate crimes against Whites, which happened at the same time.

Borzellieri writes, "The instances of Black-on-White brutality are too many to enumerate. Yet media and politicians create a national din only when the politically correct victim groups are on the wrong side of the violence."

The final sections focus on personal profiles of people like New York's gun-grabbing Senator Chuck Schumer and the late Supreme Court Justice Harry Blackmun. A column about the inept former Black mayor of New York City is titled, "Dinkins: Still a Loser."

It is columns like this that helped Borzellieri become a lightning rod for controversy. The author ends this collection of columns with some fairly standard right-wing commentary on immigration.

Frank Borzellieri is the most talented writer in America, and that's saying a lot. This book, "Don't Take It Personally," is his second collection of essays and political columns, mostly taken from his writings for the Ledger-Observer newspaper chain in New York City. What is most remarkable about the writings in his books are that they address issues virtually every other conservative columnist in America are afraid to tackle. And those issues concern the complete unvarnished truth about race and racial matters. I love the columnist Michelle Malkin, who writes about foreign-born American terrorists and supports racial profiling, but Frank Borzellieri gives it to us completely straight and unafraid.

Take, for example, his writings on white hypocrites when it comes to racial integration. He writes, "But the most transparent hypocrisy [on the part of white liberals] pertains to racial integration and diversity, which white liberals claim are vitally important and sources of great national strength, but from which they assiduously shield and disengage themselves and their families. Indeed, on no other issue are fecklessness and dishonesty more evident than the myth of integration. *All* white liberals claim to believe in it, and *all* white liberals fail to practice it."

In other words, white liberal hypocrites say one thing and do another when it comes to racial realities, such as where to buy a home and where to send their children to school. Borzellieri points out that not one prominent white liberal has ever bought a home in a black neighborhood, despite their assurances that such a move would be a "strength." A strength for thee, but not for me, I guess.

Borzellieri also has a biting sense of humor, so his writings not only blow away the opposition with clear analysis of the facts, but he makes liberals appear unprincipled and silly. Regarding the controversy over politically incorrect sports teams' names such as the Redskins and Indians, Borzellieri points out that in the four major sports, six teams go by Indian names, but 23 teams have names that are overtly representing Caucasians, such as the Vikings, Celtics, Knickerbockers and Pirates.

This book also contains writings on gun control, immigration, crime and the lies of the radical homosexual movement. I have also seen Mr. Borzellieri on television articulating his views, which is actually how I became a big fan. He is an attractive, well-spoken man with an outstanding talent for words. Get this book, and his first volume, "The Unspoken Truth."

Don't Take It Personally is a collection of Frank Borzellieri's articles, columns, and essays, which have appeared in major publications. Borzellieri, a newspaper columnist who was elected to the school board in Queens, New York, writes directly, clearly, and boldly on controversial topics that many in America today fear to address. He says the things most people think but don't dare say or camouflage in euphemism. When President Clinton praised the celebration of "Kwanzaa" as an example of diversity's ability to "unit--not divide--our society," Borzellieri proffered the unvarnished reality, noting that "Blacks have no such illusions that Kwanzaa is intended to unite the different races and ethnicities that comprise America. The "unity" of which Kwanzaa speaks is the unity of black people only. Kwanzaa is, quite simply, a black separatist phenomenon." Borzellieri tackles topics ranging from racial differences to aids to immigration to sports to crime and gun control to political figures. All of his commentary is fast-paced, insightful, and hard hitting--contrasting sharply with with the tepid remarks of political pundits who are afraid to tell the truth.

Dostoevsky: The Miraculous Years, 1865-1871

"It seems, in fact, as though the second half of a man's life is made up of nothing, but the habits he has accumulated during the first half."
Fyodor Dostoevsky

Literary biography is a tough genre. The challenge for the biographer is to avoid doing a hatchet job on the one hand, and being a shill on the other (Max Brod's panegyric to Kafka comes to mind). Among the best at the genre are Richard Ellman (James Joyce, Oscar Wilde); Ron Powers (Mark Twain) and Joseph Frank, whose massive, five-volume biography of Dostoevsky is a marvel.
Frank succinctly sums up his task: "The aim of literary biography, as I conceive it, is to furnish readers with a context, drawn from the writer's personal life,as well as from the social, cultural, literary and philosphical background of his or her time, that will help toward a better understanding of the work."

The son of an abusive alcoholic father and a tubercular mother; a compulsive gambler, introspective and melancholic; given to epileptic seizures; sentenced to a Gulag and forced to serve in a Russian regiment; chronically broke and peripatetic; variously lionized and demonized by his critics and supporters -- there's enough material in Dostoevsky's life for a five volume biography, which, written over a 30 year period, Frank provides.

Of course he has a lot to work with: Dostoevsky left reams of material, including diaries, notebooks, letters, and manuscripts. His collected works, in Russian, run to 30 volumes. Frank makes ample use of this material, especially in his analysis of Dostoevsky's major works in this period, "Crime and Punishment," "The Idiot," and "The Devils." Like a bipolar person, Dostoevsky swung from deep depression to exalted heights. He could plumb the depths of human depravity one minute, and celebrate the heights of the human spirit the next.

An example is one of his frequent gambling binges. "(The letter) also contains a frank admission of his recent gambling escapades, which Dostoevsky explains, in his usual fashion, in terms of the lure of freeing himself from debt in one miraculous stroke. "In one fell swoop to get out of all these proceedings with his creditors, provide for myself for a time and for my family. "But Dostoevsky is honest enough to add that gambling contains its own vertiginous attraction ("You know how that draws you in") (Frank, P. 224)

Frank's scholarship is exemplary, his writing lucid, and his subject mesmerizing.

Joseph Frank, generally considered the world's foremost expert on Dostoyevsky, provides all the background you would ever need to truly understand the great mind that was Dostoyevsky. An indispensable guide to the master's great works.

Joseph Frank's biography of Dostoievsky is a picture of the artist in the context of his century. It is not only a brilliant portrait of a great man but an image of nineteenth century Russia. It is neither patronizing nor overly analytic, but provides a taste of Dostoievky's life - making his thoughts, actions, and writings fuse into a coherent whole. I have probably read hundreds of biographies in my life and this one is the best.

Born and raised in Lubec Maine, I grew to love the coast as if it were my own personal playground. As a young lad I would spend my days swimming in the chilly waters off my families private beach, and my nights roasting marshmellows over and open fire. When I was in my teens I went to work in the local sardine factory and spent many days dragging for scallops in the bay.

I moved away from Downeast Maine twenty years ago and I have missed it ever since. I miss the smell of the salt air and the nice cool breeze that always seems to be there. I miss the endless hay fields and the way the trees produce unheard of colors every fall. Most of all I miss the people. They are kind, honest, and carry an accent that could make anyone feel at home.

I bought the book Downeast Maine: A World Apart a month ago and I read it every day. The stories and black and white photos give the reader a true feeling for what it is like living in Downeast Maine. Reading it, I can almost smell the salt air and feel that unforgettable summer breeze. The book really brings me home again. It's wonderfull book!

A summer resident of Maine's easternmost corner, Frank Van Riper goes beyond clam shacks, country clubs and outlet malls to portray how people 'Down East' eke out a living and build a life.

Van Riper, a former White House correspondent for the New York Daily News ably handles both camera and notepad to record vivid, full-frame images of his neighbors. This is fundamentally a book about people, and he has clearly managed to transcend that putoffishness that Maine residents are known for to get their stories alongside their pictures. The text doesn't merely accompany, nor do the photos merely illustrate; they are inseparable components.

There is a timeless quality to these images of people, most seen at work. Only at times does a modern watch or a radar dome on a boat remind you that clams are still dug through back-breaking labor and lobster hauled up one or two at a time. The book was collected over a number of years, and italics note where the subject portrayed died between the portrait and publication -- and you feel the loss.

This is serious documentary, with more than a hint of Walker Evans and Sebastián Salgado, but with light touches as well. Van Riper devotes a page to the peculiar delight of Maine's own Grape Nuts ice cream, a confection that predates -- and in his view, outrates -- Ben and Jerry's chunky conglomerates.

A visually stunning series of what happens when a dead whale washes ashore in his small town of Kennebec closes out the book. The sharply mottled skin of the whale amid the wash-fade of a foggy illustrate the beauty of his corner of Maine, as Van Riper also tells us of hard choices a financially strapped, self-reliant community must face as it struggles to get rid of what is, after all, tons and tons of rotting flesh.

This sensitive portrayal proves that what it means to be from Maine has nothing to do with what bottled water you drink.

Frank Van Riper captures, in his portraits of Maine, the people that he has come to know slowly (is there any other way in Maine?) through his photo excursions to the northeast.

His "moment" photographs are some of my favorites, including the photo of the boy at the pie-eating contest. It's an ageless photograph captured with precision timing and artful composition. These are traits of photographs throughout the book and share the essence of great documentary photojournalism--the ability to capture a simple (almost unseen) moment with artisitc and historic sensibilities. Van Riper captures this quiet beauty in medium format which lends itself to the superb reproductions.

Van Riper's fine images coupled with his words showcase his great ear for telling dialogue honed during his "other" career as a newspaper writer.

MY SON RECEIVED SEVERAL OF THESE BOOKS FOR CHRISTMAS. HE LOVES THE BOOKS. AS AN ART STUDENT IN SCHOOL, HE IS REQUIRED TO TURN IN ONE SKETCH FROM HOME EACH WEEK. THE BOOKS GIVE HIM SO MANY IDEAS. WE ARE VERY PLEASED

I teach art in a middle school. When students have finished their assignments early, they may choose one of the how to draw books in my classroom. This book is always chosen first for those that like to draw fantasy pictures. I like to see their excitement after they try one of the pictures. I recommend this book for the 12-14 year old age group, because it is the most requested how to draw book in my classroom.

When I began to read this book I couldn't draw dragons for my life. Now I am the best dragon drawer in the class. It was really helpfull to me, and will be to you to!