Frank Books

One does not have to be familiar with the Adirondacks to feel what life might be like there. This book will transport you to these forests, to another dimension, to another world, to a land of mystery and action.

If you want to know if elves exist, what they do, how they think, how they interact with people, you will discover these answers as you encounter The Elves of Loch Fada.

This book was written for youong people, and I am not in that age group, but this adventure took my imigination and mind there again. Even after finishing the book, my mind will sometimes wander back to that wonderful fantasy world.

Though I am an avid reader of suspense, I am glad that this book caught my attention. An excellent read for young readers and for the young at heart. Yes, I will read the sequel.

JCE
Indiana

This book is a transcension of native folk lore of the Adirondak Mountains, with classic well developed fantasy. Perfectly written for all ages, it will keep hardcore fantasy fans tunring page after page, while also riviting those with a local knowledge of the region. There is truly something for everyone here. I recommend it to anyone who is a fantasy fan, a reader of lore, or has ties to the Adirondak mountains.

This book is simply an amazing mix of ancient folklore, modern locale and flavors, and a deep fantasy mix that any avid fantasy fan will immediately identify to. Young and old will find elements to keep the mind flying along on this trip to another place. This novel will strike Adirondak buffs with locations they recognize and have seen, giving them new insight into these places, a perspective only given in local lore long since past. Fantasy fans will find the novel to contain all they are used to, but presented in a way which brings new twists to ancient epic battles of good versus evil.
I highly recommend this book to any and all readers with an Adirondak backround, an interest in ancient lore, and all fantasy fans of any age. Well Done.

I trust this is the one compiled by his son Eric.

Anyway, this book seems to read like McLuhan always wanted it: short, digestible bursts of prose.

The Playboy Interview is fantastic. I always generally enjoyed McLuhan in a dialog scenario more than his writings, though his writings definitely tend to have more moving moments of clarity and epiphany.

McLuhan was not the first to open up the field of media study with the focus on the media rather than content. But he was the first to see that ALL human artifacts create their own context of effects, and McLuhan remains unsurpassed in the breadth and depth of his understanding. No field of human endeavor goes unaffected by media environments, and this generous collection is well suited to the serious inquirer, whether new to McLuhan or revisiting him with the onset of the latest manifestations of the electronic age--the web and internet

Measuring the impact of Marshall McLuhan on media studies is akin to measuring the impact of media on man. Modern man's entire scope of understanding is impacted by and funneled through media forms, and the field of media study is almost entirely funneled through the groundbreaking work of Marshall McLuhan. He may not be the least appreciated genius of the 20th century, but he is at least among the most niche-appreciated; for a man whose theories have practical, everyday applications for just about every human on the planet, he is rarely discussed outside the circle of communication and media students, academics, and researchers.

That's where a compilation like this one can come in very handy. For the new McLuhan reader, this generous collection offers enlightening snippets from nearly all of his major works, as well as some informative profile pieces. It's a great introduction to McLuhan specifically, and to media studies in general, and should nicely pique the interest for further study.

This is an extremely inspiring book, beautifully written with a tremendous number of color illustrations. It was worth every penny!

This is a wonderful, well written, interesting story of this first generation New York School painter's life and art. The illustrations are glorious and the writing is poetic. A perfect addition to any library and an ideal gift for any art lover!

I love this art style and so heartily appreciated Vicente's exquisite paintings. He veers in the direction of colors I prefer as well, using purples, violets and reds generously. I know I've bemoaned art books which aren't laid out well but this is not one of them. If all art books were published with this care and attention, I would never complain about layout again, in fact! Elizabeth Frank, the writer, does her usual exemplary job but, as usual, I was into it far more for just looking at the art work. If you hate abstract expressionism and/or the cover of the book, go no further. The cover is very representative of his overall style and color preferences.

What would make two wealthy, seemingly well-raised teenagers gleefully kidnap and murder another neighborhood boy? Each generation has asked this question during the eighty-three years since this event became the "crime of the century," and John Theodore has, to the extent possible, provided an answer in Evil Summer. Theodore begins with his own childhood recollection of becoming aware of the murder, then recreates the 1920s and the atmosphere of wealthy Hyde Park, Chicago, always depicting the humanness of the parents of both victim and perpetrators. The story is interesting throughout; I especially enjoyed the informative and eerie epilogue.

I have been aware of this heinous crime for several decades, but have never read a book about its specifics. Therefore, I am assuming this book is correct in its facts. It is certainly an interesting read. Two teen-agers, Richard Loeb and Nathan Leopold, decide they are intellectually superior to anyone else, and decide to test their theory by murdering a child at random. By the grace of God they lost track of the first boy they spotted coming home from school, and finally settled on 14 year old Bobby Franks. One of the two murderers was playing tennis with him the day before, not knowing that Bobby would be the victim. Clarence Darrow defended Leopold and Loeb by introducing "three wise men from the east" to cast doubt on the sanity of the defendants. Besides the victim you really have to feel for the parents of Bobby Franks. His mother remained in denial repeating that "Bobby will be home soon." Several photographs are included to supplement the text. This despicable crime took place in Chicago in 1924 during the Capone and O'Banion beer wars, and it reminds me of a similar twosome, Robert Tulloch and James Parker, of Chelsea, Vermont, who murdered two Dartmouth professors in 2001 in a thrill killing. Both partners in crime most likely wouldn't have committed the crime without the support of the other, and both believed their intellectual superiority would prevent them from being arrested. Both are very tragic stories. Considering I don't have any other book on Leopold and Loeb to compare it to I would highly recommend this book.

As a young girl growing up in Chicago I remember watching Nathan Leopold on television when he was released from Statesville prison. I asked my Mother who he was and she told me he and another young man had killed a boy name Booby Frank. I became interested in the Crime of the Century and read the books Compulsion as well as Life plus 99 years and the Crime of the Century and now add this book to my collection. You can feel Chicago in 1924 and the hysteria that was to be the trial of two young men who held such promise that summer. The question why still haunts after all these years as does the human toll on the boys families..the Franks, The Leopolds and the Loebs. Babe on his way to Europe and the pride of his family with his intellect and potential for greatness. Dickie..handsome, charming, loved by all who meet him collide with Babe to do the unthinkable for what seemed to be just a thrill. Together they could do what as individuals they could not kidnap and kill a superior crime or so they thought. Darlings of the media who sought their every words and then gleefully waited for the hangman to put his noose around their necks. Enter Clarence Darrow the Old lion who surprises by pleading his clients guilty avoiding a jury trial and pleads for his young clients lives instead. The book covers the crime, the trial and the aftermath.. Babe and Dickie slowly adjusted to prison life and found redemption in the library and taught at the prison. Dickie killed in prison by James Day who was upset that his prison bank account could no longer be funded by the Loebs. Babe would continue the work they started until his parole many years later. Nathan Leopold is often used right or wrongly as an example that a prisoner no matter how heinous the crime can be rehabilitated. The sadness of all this is the greatness both Babe and Dickie might have given the world if not for a seemingly innocent ride in a roadster.

Sincerely recommend this one. It is one of a kind in the world

A must read for anyone trying to lose weight or suffering from chronic health problems. I really enjoyed this book as it was easy to read and follow and makes sense. Brilliant!

If you are tired of fad diets, then read this book, It will change the way you have done things in the past. I did, and my life has dramatically changed and so has my health and weight.
A masterpiece in the realm of diet books.

thankyou for the opportunity to get this book

My college is doing this production next year so I wanted to do some research on the show and was quite satisfied with the product....It's a pretty wacky show but I was impressed with the quality and promptness of the delivery. Thank you very much!
P.S. William Finn himself is going to come to the show and I am going to try to get him to autograph this copy

This book is the libretto for the musical "Falsettos" which is sung entirely, so unless you have the music, the book is incomplete. But for "Falsettos" lovers this is a must have. The music is a bit confusing with a lot of subtext. The book allows you to analyze each character to find the deeper meaning (and believe me, there is a lot of underlined meaning). The best part of the book is that it includes one version of "In Trousers" (which is vertually unavailable in a sound recording). "In Trousers" was the first of the three one-acts written and tells of Marvin's struggle with his sexuality when he was in high school. There are three versions of "In Trousers": the original, the revision, and a combination of both. This version is the combination. Perhaps "In Trousers" is the most insightful of all three shows, although it is the hardest to understand. If you like to analyze scripts, this one is a welcomed challenge. All three deal with the idea of homosexuality and family life. It is a funny, heart warming, heart wrenching story as you follow Marvin's struggle to accept his homosexuality and still maintain a relationship with his young son and (ex)wife. It has good family values and some beautiful ballads. One of my all time favorite musicals. A definite for any musical library.

William Finn is a genius. He is the composer and lyricist of all 3 musicals in the 'Falsettos Trilogy'. This vocal selections book has highlights from the first and second musicals in the trilogy, March of the Falsettos and Falsettoland. There are 17 songs in all, which is a rather large amount. In this book are: The Baseball Game, A Day In Falsettoland, Everyone Hates His Parents, What More Can I Say, What Would I Do?, Something Bad Is Happening, Holding To The Ground, Unlikely Lovers, You Gotta Die Sometime, Father To Son, I'm Breaking Down, March Of The Falsettos, 4 Jews In A Room Bitching, Marriage Proposal, Making A Home, The Games I Play, and I Never Wanted To Love You. The lyrics are both touching and hysterical. The songs both develop the characters and show the genius of the composer. 'Four Jews Bitching' is a fantastic musical theatre piece for four males. I can't reccomend this book enough!!!

Eagerly anticipated, my copy of Fantasy Classics arrived in the mail today, and I was not disappointed.
From the Mark A Nelson Frankenstein cover to the fantastic 'Dream Quest of Unknown Kadath', this just may be editor Tom Pompluns' strongest book to date. Just how does fantasy rise from the imaginations of international writers? "Fantasmagoriana" answers that question as Shelley, Byron,Godwin, Claremont and Polidori pose the challenge of Fantasmagoriana-German ghost stories and the creation of ghost stories that rainy evening.
Frankenstein, illustrated by Skot Nelson, is not the Universal standard version, but rather an exaggerated, almost caricturized monster entirely suitable for the story. I loved this telling of the man made monster classic. Rappacini's Daughter is enchanting. The Glass Dog (by L Frank Baum) is delightful, and a hidden treasure from the overlooked author of the Wizard of oz series. "Dream Quest" by Lovecraft is a cool exploration of the dream worlds we all have, yet are afraid to enter. There's no place like home could be an apt summary of the adventure, yet there is so much more to the Lovecraft piece.

As I said before, this may be the best edition yet. But, having read all of the books from Pomplun so far, I doubt it!

Www.graphicsclassics.com

Tim Lasiuta

Tom Pomplun and the Graphic Classics team just keep getting better. This latest release is another anthology collection, bringing us some of the more obscure tales from famous authors like L. Frank Baum, as well as the grand slam home run of Mary Shelley. I love these anthology collections the best, for the chance to be introduced to some new authors as well as seeing adaptations of some of my favorite yarns.

"Fantasy Classics" is a good mix of long and short stories, with two major tales peppered with short poems and stories on a theme. There is no "High Fantasy" here, no knights or dragons, and perhaps "Fantastical" would be a better term. But no matter what you want to call it, there is some great stuff here.

This edition includes:

"After the Fire" - A short poem by Lord Dunsany, the man who was the inspiration for HP Lovecraft and all of the weird fiction authors to follow. Rachel Masilamani's illustrations cement the Lovecraft-connection with writhing tentacles.

"Fantasmagoriana" - A recreation of the famous ghost story competition that gave rise to one of the most famous monsters of all time. Lord Byron, Percy Shelley and Mary Godwin all come to life in illustrations by Mark A. Nelson that resemble Victorian prints.

"Frankenstein" - The Monster in question appears, in a long 47 page adaptation by rod Lott. Skot Olsen interprets the tale with a delightful Gothic-cartoony feel that balances sympathy for the monster with its horrible nature.

"Rappaccini's Daughter" - Nathaniel Hawthorne is one of my favorite authors, and someone who really deserves the Graphic Classics treatment. This is a text-and-pictures adaptation telling the story of a sort of mad wizard of Science, his beautiful daughter, and the foolish man who loves her. Beautifully adapted by
Lance Tooks, my favorite of the Graphic Classics artists.

"The Glass Dog" - L. Frank Baum, best know for his Oz series, did other tales too, like this little yarn of a wizard who cares nothing for money, and a lonely glass blower who cares for little else, unless it be for the love of a bitter shrew. The two strike a bargain, and we get a funny tale of questionable morals. Illustrated by Brad Teare, it has a great scratchy feel that compliments the story.

"The Dream Bridge" - A short poem by Clark Ashton Smith and illustrated by Evert Geradts, It is a fanciful whimsy.

"The Dream Quest of the Unknown Kadath" - This is a new adaptation, different from the previous Graphic Classics adaptation. The second long yarn of the book, 47 pages, illustrator Leong Wan Kok takes us on a bizarre tour through Lovecraft's dreaming realms. It has the proper nightmarish feel, gugs and all.

Volume fifteen in the Graphic Classics series, Fantasy Classics is an anthology of black-and-white comic adaptations of timeless fantasy (and horror) stories by great literary authors. Each adaptation is illustrated by a different artist with a fiercely individual style. The adapted literature selections are "After the Fire" by Lord Dunsany, "Fantasmagoriana" (a prologue to Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, telling of a creative exchange of ghost stories Shelly once had with fellow writers), "Frankenstein" by Mary Shelley, "Rappaccini's Daughter" by Nathaniel Hawthorne, "The Glass Dog" by L. Frank Baum, "The Dream-Bridge" by Clark Ashton Smith, and "The Dream Quest of Unknown Kadath" by H.P. Lovecraft. The resulting compilation is highly recommended as an invaluable introduction to the worlds of fantasy, wizardry, and dreaming that took root in humanity's collective psyche well before "The Lord of the Rings" established certain tropes as mainstream. Due to mature and often tragic themes, Fantasy Classics is recommended for readers who are at least twelve years of age.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

The previous review outlined the plot. All I will say is that this book is the most humourous and rivetting read I have experienced in over 30 years. Then once you have finished the book the thought provoking issues behind the story come though. This author is a genius and very very funny.

I read Father Frank on the advice of a friend earlier this year. We were camping and I needed a new book to read. I was expecting a simple, funny beach read and I got that, but it is also much more than that. Francis Dempsey, a lapsed Irish Catholic, gets into Oxford to study theology and eventually becomes a priest, despite his total lack of belief in a higher power. The book, pleasant and enjoyable to read, manages to tackle subjects like faith, sex and the role of religion in every day life without preaching and author Paul Burke does a surprisingly good job of it. The seemingly silly, unbelievable plotline works brilliantly thanks to Burke's impressive comedic talent. This is a purely fun read, and one that will, amazingly enough, leave you pondering faith. Outraegeously funny, sometimes heartbreaking, 'Father Frank' should be required reading for everyone who ever questioned God, and love.

I really loved this book. Frank starts out as a young man who really doesn't know what to do with himself when his school career finishes. On the advice of a guidance counsellor, he enrols in Oxford to study Theology, with his marks that is the only course he can get into anyway -theology not being such a popular subject and people to fill places in the course hard to find.

Surprisingly, Frank turns out to be rather good at it, depite the fact that he doesn't believe in God, or even a higher power. He then goes on to become a Priest. In order to meet people and raise some funds for his church, he drives a cab in his spare time, which is completely charitable, you can donate whatever you wish and he will take you wherever you wish in London.

One day a beautiful girl hops in, and in spite of himself he finds his feelings for her grow. She even starts calling his cab on vague pretexts.

The most lovable thing about Franks character is that he really is a good man, and never compromises himself. There is quite a lot of drama with the church, trying to get the hall renovated and people interested in going there again.

A really fun read with a happy ending, but beautifully written and funny too.

Highly recommended.

If you are a ship expert, or just want to find a little information, this is for you. Braynard and Miller did a spectacular job! They wrote enough info. so you know and understand each ship, but aren't so detailed that the book bores the reader. This book is a must have for anyone interested in ocean liners.

This is the book to get if you're into ocean liners! It contains loads of great information about the ocean liners of the past and present, and whets the appetite for more!

I think the "Fifty Famous Liners" series (books 1-3) are the most concise and informational descriptions of the worlds most famous liners a terrific buy for Liner enthusiasts! Andrew Oliva (aoliva@odin.cbu.edu)

This book is an easy read, and has very clear and apparently simple concepts driving the whole idea of dieting and losing weight in the best way. But in reality, it's quite profound. I never read a book about fitness before that convinced me how nothing will work -- no matter how famous the method or whatever -- until you yourself really intend to change your entire attitude toward eating, exercising and being healthy. All of a sudden I realized that even those diets and exercise programs that got me to my perfect weight and shape were a waste of time, cuz I didn't stick to them....and as the author would argue, I really wasn't doing it right at all.

Finally, a fitness book that can be used with any diet or exercise regime, but it's the one you have to read first. It's like the Old Testament - it comes first!! I very much recommend this book. Read it on your next domestic flight or on the subway to work. You'll be really surprised how it will impact you, and you'll never look at the whole dieting thing the same way after.

The concepts contained in Find Your Fitness are groundbreaking. As a personal, business, and wellness coach as well as someone who is personally passionate about fitness, I've found that in order for new habits to be developed, they've got to be grounded in a clear purpose and a new way of thinking. Because the Find Your Fitness approach to health and fitness focuses not just on good nutrition and consistent exercise, but deepens the focus to all the internal components that need to be in place for wellness to be a way of life, the weight loss and behavior change really stick.

I have struggled with weight loss my whole life. I have gained and lost the same weight over and over again. I always thought that I wasn't disciplined enough. After reading Find your Fitness, I discovered that wasn't the case. Find your fitness teaches you how to find what works for you. The unique thing is that what works is different for everyone so you can't make a mistake. Find your fitness provides you with the tools to find your own way and achieve the success that you strive. I recommend this book to anyone who has ever struggled with weight loss or just wants to be empowered and take control of their life.