Greene Books

I felt the book provided good lessons and beautiful graphic design . The artist does certainly draw radiant flowers. My main objection is the variety of colored pencils and watercolor pencils needed to have on hand from various different companies.

This book contains wonderful examples of colored pencil art. The pictures in this book are exquiste. As a person who is just starting exploring medium and just starting drawing, I found it lacking in the how to aspect. Each picture has a list of the colors used in it. But, it doesn't go into detailed instruction or detailed technique which is what I would have liked at this beginning stage. When I get more proficient with my technique I will go back to this book. The books displays wonderful examples of what can be done with colored pencils. The book is worth having for the beautiful pictures. If nothing else it makes a great coffee table book.

This is a great book, it has many drawings not just by the author but by other artists. The pictures are clear and very large so you can see all the details. Every page has a drawing and tells what colors were used and how they were applyed. I think this book Is excellent but is aimed more for the serious artist.

The book is full of beautiful and inspirational flower drawings, I admit. I hoped to get some hints about drawing flowers generally, but the author teaches the reader to copy his(her?) drawings step-by-step, including to use the same pencils/colours. Maybe, if I was 10 years old, it would be helpful, but as an adult, I don't want to copy someone's creation. Yet, the book is not disappointment to me - it introduces a new technique of coloured pencils I never met before.

As a beginner with the colored pencil medium I have been working with flowers as my main subjects. With my love of the flowers,plants,and trees,I was naturally pulled towards wanting to put my hand to the drawing of flowers. A friend of mine who knew of my interest,gave me Gary Greene's wonderful book. Not only was I thrilled by seeing the works of truly accomplished colored pencil artists, but I was inspired by the instruction and care that went into the writing and illustration of this book.

It has not only become a teaching guide for me but,it has also become an inspiration to make me work harder to learn more about this wonderful, dynamic art medium. (And, I use the word work lightly, what a joy!)

Mr Graham Greene's short novel is set in Vienna just before the end of the Second World War. The city is described as "smashed and dreary" and when the action starts, Vienna is still divided up in zones among the Four Powers: the Russian, the British, the American and the French zones. Rollo Martins's line is the writing of cheap paperback Westerns under the penname of Buck Dexter. Martins received an invitation from Harry Lime of the International Refugee Office to join him in Vienna. When Martins arrives at the Hotel Asoria, there is no Lime expecting him, but only a cryptic message for Mr Dexter from a man called Crabbin. Martins then decides to look for Lime's apartment, but once he arrives there, a neighbour, a Herr Kurz, informs him that Harry Lime is dead after having been run over by a car. The burial is to take place the same afternoon at Vienna's Central Cemetery. Martins goes to the ceremony and immediately after that, he is accosted by a man called Calloway, a policeman from Scotland Yard, who asks him if he knew Harry Lime.
This is the beginning of Graham Greene's classic espionage thriller, very well constructed with wonderfully drawn characters and a suspenseful plot.

The Third Man, written originally as the outline for the screenplay of Carol Reed's famous 1949 film of the same name, is set in occupied Vienna just after World War II. The sectors established by the conquering British, Americans, French, and Russians contribute to an atmosphere of tension and mystery, and an almost palpable aura of menace as residents and visitors alike must deal with four different governments, four sets of officials, and four collections of laws as they move throughout the city.

Rollo Martins, an author of cowboy novels, arrives in Vienna to visit an old school friend, Harry Lime, only to find that he has arrived on the day of Lime's funeral. Investigating Lime's death, Martins learns that a neighbor saw the traffic accident that killed Lime and observed three men carrying Lime's body from the scene. Only two of those men have been identified--the third man has vanished.

As Martins investigates Lime's death, the novel is by turns exciting and darkly humorous, intensely visual in its descriptions and action, but lacking the characterization and thematic focus which one associates with most of Greene's work. The novella is full of wit and dark theatrics, and includes everything from a chase through the sewers to a love story.

The Fallen Idol, sometimes known as "The Basement Room," is, by contrast, a psychological, rather than plot-based story. Nine-year-old Philip, who idolizes the family's butler Baines, since his parents pay little attention to him, is left with Baines and his wife while the parents go on vacation. Baines is having an affair, and Philip innocently discloses this to his wife.

The resulting confrontation results in an accident in which the wife ends up dead, and Philip, panicked, runs out, only to be picked up by a policeman, to whom another naive remark conveys the idea that Baines has murdered her. Irony and a delightfully drawn child's point of view (unusual for Greene) make The Fallen Idol one of Greene's more interesting and twisted stories.

Both The Third Man and The Fallen Idol led to film collaborations between Greene and director Carol Reed--The Fallen Idol in 1948, and Reed's more famous film of The Third Man in 1949. Dark humor, elaborate ironies, and surprising twists characterize both stories and show Greene to be a master manipulator of perceptions. Mary Whipple

On the backcover of the book:

THE THIRD MAN

Rollo Martins is invited by his school-friend hero, Harry Lime, to post-war Vienna, 'a smashed dreary city' occupied by four powers...

Everyone has a racket, but Martins learns that Lime 'was about the worst racketeer who ever made a dirty living'. What's more, LIme has just been killed - by accident? The truth is almost more than Martins can stand...

THE FALLEN IDOL

Philip is a small boy left in a large Belgravia house with Baines, the butler, and 'thin, menacing, dusty' Mrs Baines. And Baines has a girl-friend. Soon Philip is 'caught up in other people's darkness...'

Greene writes in the preface that "The Third Man was never intended to be more than the raw materiall for a picture". Still, the novel is not lack of intricated plots, suspenses, character's thought processes, and Greene's typical sharp wits. The Fallen Idol was not written for the films. It is a short story with intensity and suspense: a boy got involved in the lives of adults.

Graham Greene is the master of suspense, even in these two rather short stories. That's all I have to say about this book.

As Graham Greene admits in the preface of the novella "The Third Man", this story 'was never written to be read but only to be seen'. When invite by director Carol Reed to write a screenplay, the British novelist decided to write a short story first and then develop the script. As he confess, it is too hard to write a movie without having worked on the story previously, because the movie depends also on characterization, mood and atmosphere, and these are hard to be captured in the first time in a screenplay.

"The Fallen Idol" on the other hand, was already a published story when Reed invited Greene to work in the screenplay. The writer suspected it wouldn't be a good movie, but accepted the 'challenge' due to the respected he had for the director.

Greene wrote "The Third Man" only as a blueprint for the script and, nevertheless, both story and movie are great. It is a novella with a little more than 100 pages, and yet largely entertaining, as the writer wanted it to be. Not many writers are capable of doing such a amazing story without pretension -- because it is not easy to acquire simplicity.

The plot is not complicated as well. A British writer arrives in the pos-War divided Vienna to meet an old friend, who turns out to be dead. But there are some suspicious events surrounding his death -- and he also has a gorgeous girlfriend, who is very sad. Rollo, the main character, ends up investigating the death and there comes many twists in the plot of the story.

"The Third Man" is a very short narrative, nevertheless, Greene succeeded in all he wanted. More than anything, the story has atmosphere. Vienna is destroyed, picking up the pieces -- so are the characters who are caught in a plot bigger than themselves. However much Rollo doesn't want to be involved with his friend's death -- he can't avoid due to the train of events that catch him.

The writing is Greene at his best. The plot is convincing and well built with tension and fun coming from every page. Although the novel is slightly different from the movie, fans of Carol Reed's genial "The Third Man" can't be disappointed with the short story that was the genesis of this that is considered the best British movie ever.

"The Fallen Idol" is even a shorter story, and Greene couldn't believe it could be translated into a movie. It is a good piece of writing with believable characters and an engaging plot. But, when compared to "The Third Man" it lacks energy -- but it is not really a problem, since Greene's writing are never bad.

The author states in the preface that "The Third Man" was never written to be read but only to be seen" which perhaps explains the sketchy treatment of characters throughout the story.At times I was confused by the various people in the book and had to reread some pages.The storyline was interesting and quite exciting and I look forward to seeing the film. The other story in the book,"The Fallen Idol",is only 30 pages long but Greene manages to convey a sinister atmosphere and great depth of characters-a very enjoyable story.

It is not a bad book. You should admire that the author wanted to make the world a better place by teaching about being inventive. Although, in my opinion, I find that the author has a bit of ego telling the world he has invented this and that. I don't find anything ego about creating a more safer aircraft, but the other example I do find it to be bragging. The author suggestion about being inventive doesn't seem new, it just that most people doesn't seem to notice it yet.

I don't actually recommand that you buy this book on how to be inventive.

However, if you wanted a few funny story, then by all means, buy this book.

This is a great book for anyone who wants to learn how to apply creative thinking, imagination, and "lateral thinking" to their lives and work. It is suitable for anyone, but would be best for children age 10 and older, and adults. The author has lived an amazing life, and filled this book with stories of how he has changed the world, and the people around him. This is a great book for someone looking to find new solutions to old problems, or just looking to "spice things up." There should be a web site where people can share ideas that are stimulated by this book.

From the beginning of Leonard Greene's book, "Inventorship, the Art of Innovation", Walter Cronkite writing in the Foreword, writes about one of my favorite writers of yesterday. Cronkite tells the reader a World War Two incident involving a reporter friend of his, Jimmy Cannon. Cronkite and the other American reporters could not get by the Russian Guards because they had no proper ID. Cannon got by the Russian Guards and spent two days with them before returning to Cronkite and the American Third Army. The Question was "How did Cannon do it?" Leonard Greene provides the answer for his readers in his book: think about the problem at hand, and use "the art of innovation." Jimmy Cannon's solution: thinking and innovation. Cannon showed the Russian Guards "his Texaco credit card with the oil company's big red star on its back.The Guards couldn't read English, but the soviet symbol was enough, and pass him through they did." Leonard Greene's new book is full of wonderful ideas of how inventions come into being. He proves in an intelligent and interesting way that necessity is not necessarily the the only mother of invention; "Imagination is." During World War Two, when this writer was a young sailor. one of the things that amazed me was how in God's name did those planes take off and land on aircraft cariers, especially, the carriers we called the "baby carriers." Leonard's Inventions/solutions: Stall Warning Devices for landing; speed bumps at the end of the runway for take-offs. The Elder President Bush knows their value from his WW11 South Pacific flying days. Leonard Greene's book is facinating reading; it should be required reading with Peter Drucker's books in University/College Business Schools.I give Greene's book the Highest Recommendation.

If you are at all interested in the invention process then you'll should get this book to read on the actual processes that an inventor went through in invention after invention.

At first I thought the author was a little egocentric... talking about all of his inventions. Then I realized that he was truly a profilic inventor. His method of telling us about the invention process was to illustrate each of the methods he used with real stories of inventions. Stories that happened (mostly) to him.

It is very easy to read, and the author went out the way to get an artist to support his points with illustrations. As I read the book I became intrigued with all of his inventions. After a while I started saying to myself... "Gosh, I can't believe he invented this under those conditions."

Particularly interesting was his analysis of what the people on the Titanic could have done to save the ship.

I think there are better academic books about the invention process out there... but there are few that offer a look inside the mind of someone who invented so many products.

John Dunbar

This is an easy to read book by the inventor of several aeronautical instruments. The author is also a prolific "idea" guy, and he shares many of his undeveloped ideas throughout the book. Dr. Greene goes into just a little of the detail behind his invention of the airplane stall indicator, his crowning achievement and apparently the source of his wealth. After that, the author covers many invention case studies in a very cursory and story telling way. The stories are entertaining but will not give more than a peek at what goes into the "Art of Innovation".
Much of the book is self-serving and reads like a memoir at times. There are many stories about how the author was with his family on a fantastic vacation and came up with a great invention. The stories continue to include his private plane, summer home, son's helicopter, private sail yacht, etc. Greene is very forward about showing you the riches and great life that can accompany Inventorship. He uses the book to also link politics with Inventorship by briefly plugging his book on The National Tax Rebate as an example of using Inventiveness for social issues.
Some of Greene's invention examples allocate himself a little more credit than seems reasonable. In one parable, Greene claims to have had a chat with a Princeton Professor after a lecture that resulted in major revisions of the world's cyclotrons and moved particle physics research to a new level. The kicker is Greene claims that the fundamental principle for this cyclotron design occurred to him while playing with his trains when he was seven years old.
Buy this book for the corny and sometimes funny stories. Buy this book for insight into an octogenarian who has had an impact on the aeronautical industry. Buy this book to get a few nuggets of wisdom about bringing a product to market. Don't buy this book for a "how-to" on inventing.

Francis Andrews is on the run because he informed against a gang of smugglers of spirits - of which he used to be a member - by means of an anonymous letter to the customs, resulting in the death of a ganger who was shot during a set up. Now Carlyon and his men are after Andrews to take revenge. One night, as he is fleeing from his pursuers, Andrews comes across a cottage in Hassocks where he is given shelter by the beautiful Elizabeth Garnet.
As Elizabeth slowly grows to trust Andrews, she learns from him about his past, his violent father, smuggler and owner of the ship "Good Chance" with which he used to transported brandy to England. He also tells her how, after his father's death, he met Carlyon who suggested that he joins the crew. Andrew then tells Elizabeth how deeply he detested these men because he could never ascertain himself in front of them the way his father had. Betraying them was thus a way for him to show his fellow smugglers that he "is of importance now".
It is then that Elizabeth suggests that Andrews go to Lewes the following day where the Assizes are to be held and bear his witness to show his courage. Indeed, a difficult and dangerous decision for Andrews to take...
A powerful novel about courage, cowardice, love and faith. It is commendable that Mr Greene achieved to write such a mature novel at the age of only 23.

I'm usually leery of favorite authors' first and last books. They never seem to be up to the standard of the books that come between. In Graham Greene's case, his last novel, "The Captain and the Enemy," certainly holds true to that rule of thumb. However, "The Man Within," his first, holds its own with any of Greene's fabulous later novels. This has all of the elements that would later become Greene trademarks: the conflicted and flawed male protagonist, the murky mood of intrigue and corruption, the delightful local flavor. You can just see Graham Greene novels filmed in crisp black and white (as many of them were). "The Man Within" is an excellent intro to Greene's work for a Greene neophyte and a welcome treat for die-hard fans.

The Man Within is a fantastic book about love and fear. It has elements of action, courtroom drama and good old-fashioned romance. The main character constantly assures us that he is a coward and unworthy of the love given him by the farm girl Elizabeth and also of his former associate whom he betrays in the begining of the book, yet he continues to perform uncharacteristic acts of bravery. His motives for these acts of bravery bring into question the true nature of courage and greatness. This book is surprising at every turn and yet every event, and every conversation makes total sense. It's a difficult book to put down, and you'll probably want to read it again.

*The Man Within* follows a fellow named Andrews through his horrifying experiences of paranoia and self-doubt, made all the worse by the fact that some people want to kill him. Andrews is wanted by the police in connection to the murder of an officer, pursued by his former co-smugglers because of his betrayal, and loathed by the locals because of his testimony against a group of popular criminals. There is only one person - the angelic Elizabeth - who provides him with any support, but she also creates for Andrews his biggest dilemma: to face death for someone whom he may never be able to love, or to find a new life, but without the one person who would make it worth living.

The writing does not show Greene at his peak, but it does demonstrate an early ability to craft brilliantly complicated characters and problems of morality in a manner similar to Dostoevsky..

"The Man Within" by Graham Greene was Greene's first published novel, and, I think, the reader can tell. The story centers around a man, Andrews, who has been involved in smuggling with some blackguards, and who has fled the group after a crime was committed. He flees right into the home of a woman, Elizabeth, who is in the process of burying the man who has been her guardian of sorts. She convinces him to testify against the other smugglers at the trial, and he goes to the city to do so. When he returns they profess their love for each other but face further dangers together. In the end, Andrews must face the negative influence his father has been on him in his life and the actions he has committed in reaction to that influence.

While there were some interesting facets of the book and its characters, I took a long time to get into it. The beginning, particularly, is VERY slow moving. The novel lacks the things one loves Greene for; the subtly written yet overwhelmingly powerful struggles the characters engage in with morality and/or religion, as well as a narrator who is unreliable and yet sympathetic.

I do not believe Ms. Millhiser could write a bad book; this is not one of her best but if your mind is tired from stress this is one to relax with and be entertained. It was the first time I read a "Charlie Greene" mystery. The dialog between Chairlie, her mother and her daughter was entertaining at times otherwise just the typical backtalk. I don't usually go for "series" characters but once you figure out Charlie's fears and insecurities she is a comfortable main character.

I finally gave up and quit reading. It didn't make much sense. I love paranormal, metaphysical mysteries, but this never managed to take off. A good premise wasted. Book could really have used a good editor, too.

My order arrived in a very timely manner and in excellent conditon. Thank you.

First off being a native Californian and also having been in Oregon quite a bit, the author tends to take the stereotyping a bit too far. Not all Oregonians are anti-anyone else, nor are they all New Agists. To an extent, the stereotyping detracts from the book and the plot which is actually very good. Maybe with future novels the author can avoid this. The book is very funny especially toward the end which wasn't expected. The author even made puns out of the title...once was enough. For the most part the book is intelligent and a fun read, but there were so many characters to keep track of that at certain points I would forget the relationship between the different residents of the town. Anyway, I enjoyed reading this mystery for the most part. Karen Sadler, Science Education, University of Pittsburgh

I read all the later ones before I found a copy of this...and it was the best of the lot. Maybe a little unbelievable in spots but so enjoyable that you don't care.

IT was not at all what I thought it would be. For some reason I thought it was a simple tarot deck with astrological designs on the cards. This is much much different than that. This is simply a deck used for astrology and I am not impressed with that. Time consuming!!!!!!!Better left to the Very Experienced!!!

Great overview of the signs and planets,gives reader an intuitive feel for the zodiac.Very reader Friendly. This book is a wonderful start for beginners.

I'm a huge fan of Liz Green's and give five stars to most all her work, and this is a very nice presentation. Having said that, this product is geared to the beginner or perhaps towards someone who wants to present a chart to someone else with images. I shall give it to a girlfriend astrologer who does readings and perhaps she can get more use out of it in her consultations. It is probably better for visually oriented people.

Great for begginers, easy to read, actually I thought it was for learning how to read tarot cards but this is really nice too, if you like this you should try the mythic tarot, those are actually tarot cards...

When I began learning tarot, I started with a Rider-Waite deck and later purchased the Mythic Tarot cards by Liz Greene. I was exceedingly pleased with the cards and they are still my favourite today. The cards are all baed on deities from ancient mythology, one of my favourite subjects. This makes it actually easier to read with them because I know the story line and the characteristics of the gods and goddesses depicted on the cards. rather than having to flip through the book to find the meaning of the eight of pentacles, it was much easier for me to learn and memorize so the book is now non-existant when I am reading. Whenever people inform me they are wanting to purchase tarot cards, I always recommend this deck.

This book is valuable for any number of reasons. First, it's a quite well written and accessible survey of the struggle for control of the Mediterranean during WW2. Second, it offers a convincing portrait of events specifically from the Italian perspective by going into considerable detail about not just relative weapon quality but also training, command structure, diplomatic relationships, industrial capacity and logistics.

While the book does focus on "The Naval War" it also offers a compelling picture of what the struggle looked like to Italy (aside from Russia and Greece.) It is of exceptional value to naval miniatures players and wargamers because Greene, having been a noted creator of simulations like "Iron Bottom Sound," "Norway 1940," "Royal Navy" and "Destroyer Captain," provides lots of helpful information (including convoy diagrams and maps) for tactical and operation scenario design.

All in all however this work is just a great narrative. I couldn't wait to get back and read more. One note about the research. I've been reading about the Second World War for 30+ years, with a particular interest in naval aspects, and I learned a great deal from this book. I'll leave it to those with a PHD on the topic to carp about insufficient primary research -- I don't know -- but since I don't read Italian myself this book was invaluable to my understanding of the theatre and Italy's challenges in general. You will find yourself reassessing a lot of what you thought you "knew" if you read this book. Personally when a book does that for me, I don't worry about misplaced commas!

If I had a dime for every grammatical error in this book, I'd be a rich man. The editing was horrible, and made it difficult to read.

The information presented was, on the whole, good. It was nice that the authors made available material from numerous Italian sources. However, the work relies greatly on secondary sources, and aside from attempting to present a balanced perspective, offers little new to the study of the War in the Mediterranean.

I had the impression from the dust jacket and other reviews that the book made far more use of primary sources. I was disappointed that this was not the case.

Standard short battle history. No new insight or information. could have been copied from Capt Roskill's wotk of the 1950s. If you read this you must read Sadkovich's work for balance and insight into the Italian war effort and why what the UK mediterranean fleet did was not always very inportant to the out come of the campaign.

If you have been looking for the definitive book of naval operations in the Mediterranean during World War II, you've found it. All of the major naval actions are here - British convoys to Matla, German and Italian convoys to North Africa, torpedo boat actions, sorties of the big Italian battleships, conflicts between the Italian Navy and Air Force, the sinking of the Britsh battleship Barham and aircraft carriers Eagle and Ark Royal, submarines, mines, Italian frogmen, and a chapter which looks at the proposed airborne invasion of Malta.

The book is written in an easy to read narrative style and explains many of the actions (or lack of action) on the part of the navies involved. Discussions of why the Italians usually avoided combat even when they outnumbered the enemy and why wasn't Malta ever invaded to secure the German-Italian convoy route to North Africa? This book offers insight to these and other questions as well as providing gripping descriptions of naval actions which have, until now, been mostly overlooked. This is a book which can be referred to time and again.

This book was thoroughly and well researched on the subject of the naval war in the Mediterranean Sea. A wealth of footnoted referrence materials and books have been provided for further reading. The authors set the stage for the conflict in the Mediterranean theater by briefly describing the circumstances of Italy, Great Britain, and France during the 1930's, the Spanish Civil war and roles that all the major European powers played in that war, and the arms race that took place by these countries up to the beginning of conflict. Every battle is thoroughly covered ... with numerous detailed maps of how the fleets were laid out, when and how they engaged in conflict, and the outcome of those battles. The authors gave an almost hour by hour break down of each battle, and provided detailed information on the breakdown of each fleet, including the exact number of ships, numbers and sizes of guns, numbers of aircraft involved on both sides, and why the engagements ended the way they did. The book was very well balanced, providing a point of view from the Italian side, as well as the English and French (when ever France was involved). If you want to read about classic naval warfare in World War II, the Mediterranean Sea was where it happened the most; where major fleets collided and gunned it out, where submarines, mines, torpedo boats, convoys, aircraft and aircraft carriers all played a major role in combat. I couldn't think of a better book to bring this to you than this book. A must read!!

The Mom's Choice Awards® honors excellence in family-friendly media, products and services. An esteemed panel of judges includes education, media and other experts as well as parents, children, librarians, performing artists, producers, medical and business professionals, authors, scientists and others. A sampling of the panel members includes: Dr. Twila C. Liggett, Ten-time Emmy-winner, professor and founder of Reading Rainbow; Julie Aigner-Clark, Creator of Baby Einstein and The Safe Side Project; Jodee Blanco, New York Times Best-Selling Author; LeAnn Thieman, Motivational speaker and coauthor of seven Chicken Soup For The Soul books; Tara Paterson, Certified Parent Coach, and founder of The Just For Mom Foundation(tm) and the Mom's Choice Awards®. Parents and educators look for the Mom's Choice Awards® seal in selecting quality materials and products for children and families. This book has been honored by this distinguished award.

This book is a profound yet practical guide to raising resilient children who have significant health issues. The publication of this book can best be described as a gift to families who are faced with far more complex challenges than are found in those with more typical children. These challenges include how to help children feel a sense of control, acceptance and hope while living with serious disorders. It provides a wise guide for helping raise children who are able to embrace life while taking good care of their health conditions. The book reflects a synthesis of the best in parenting skills along with a rich understanding of child psychology, family dynamics and a range of chronic disorders. This wealth of information is distilled for the reader in a format that is easy to follow; readers are provided with numerous examples of how to implement these insights. It is a unique and thorough guide to critical aspects of child-rearing that are just not found anywhere else. I regard this book as simply indispensable for families and professionals alike. It is a gem.

Laura E. Marshak
Author (with Fran Prezant) of : Married with Special-Needs Children [A couple's guide to keeping connected], Woodbine House 2007

Child psychiatrist Foster W. Cline and mother of two children with cystic fibrosis Lisa Greene present Parenting Children with Health Issues: Essential Tools, Tips and Tactics for Raising Kids with Chronic Illness, Medical Conditions & Special Healthcare Needs, a guide to learning and applying the parenting skills needed for raising children who require special medical or dietary care. Chapters discuss how to handle a child's refusal to take medication or undergo medical treatments, promote personal responsibility, deal with sibling, family, and couple relationship issues, and much more. "Because chronically ill children can so easily drift into feeling 'unfair-ed upon' by life, some become entitled and demanding, developing and exploiting placating parents who, as their child becomes more demanding, have increasing difficulty separating 'wants' from 'needs.' Entitled people, children or adults, have a tendency to control others through what they define as their 'needs.'" An invaluable, experience-laden guide accessible to parents and caretakers of all backgrounds, highly recommended.

In a review of another Love and Logic publication on Amazon, one reviewer suggested people Google Foster Cline and Rage Reduction. That's good advice.

Authors Cline and Green offer a truthful testimony to the question "How would you spend your precious moments with your child with health problems?" They present a systematic approach, Love & Logic, to positive parenting, the goal of which is to enable a child to learn the health habits to care for him\herself. Moreover, the parenting in these family situations requires thoughtfulness and compassionae conversation about real issues as grief, death, medications, self-care as well as normal child rearing tasks.

Part One of the book focuses on the basic Love & Logic strategies that most parents face: self esteem, boundaries, problem solving, and how children learn. Part 2, Advanced Love & Logic applications discusses the realities of the medical challenges within the family and how to deal with them. Added bonuses at the back of the book are extra parenting tips, the authors' personal stories, and resources.

The book is thorough, well written and easy to read. You will appreciate the honest approach in dealing with the real world situations through loving strategies. I highly recommend it.

For additional resources for stressful family situations see Help Kids Cope with Stress & Trauma

Here are some rather macabre stories that look at the darkness and uncertainty that are part of the world and human nature.

In Thailand, a lonely traveling salesman meets a mysterious woman who deals with sales and contracts of a very different sort. A very insecure man suspects that his wife is fooling around, so he takes matters into his own hands, though not in the expected way. A young woman tells the authorities why she did not splatter her mother's blood all over their suburban kitchen. The mother was the sort of person who seemed to revel in emotional victimhood.

Set in the late 19th century, another story is about the fate of a missing British diamond hunter in deepest, darkest Africa. A woman steals a priceless artifact from a local museum, and leaves two men dead. She is about to take a one-way plane trip to someplace where she will never be found, and live off the worth of the artifact. That is, until the spirits of the dead men pay her a visit, and make her pay for what she did. The book ends with the end of humanity.

This is a very short book, barely 80 pages, so this is a short review. These are very interesting and well done stories, but they are not hopeful and optimistic stories. This is very much worth checking out.

"Portraits in the dark: A collection of short stories" by Nancy O. Greene
is a definite page turner. Every story from first to last has you the reader wading deeper and deeper into the darkest corners of human nature.
Not since Hitchcock and Octavia Butler has an author created more questions in the psyche. Giving a sense of brush-stroked imagery into a
soul reminiscent of a Picasso with a pinch of Monet.

Reviewed by Tara Hammack (teen) for Reader Views (1/07)

"Portraits in the Dark" is a varied assortment of nine short stories. One will make you want to run and hide under the sheets on your bed, and others would make you feel pity for the person. It's one big emotional ride to "The End."

I liked all of the stories, but the one that stuck out to me was "Down the Rabbit Whole" because the person who was telling the story was this girl who was a pathological liar. She was telling the story of how her mom died; she claims it was her "uncle" but no one believes her, they all say it was her. I like stories where the person who is telling the story is crazy because you do not know if what they say is true or not, even if you want to believe you can't because they're crazy.

There was another one that caught my attention; it was "Darkened Sky" because it's about a girl wanting to be more than what she is expected to be. She does not want to become her mother, depressed doing drugs and not doing anything with her life, but she has no idea how she is going to do that. I think this story caught my attention because most of the stories I read and write are about a girl whose life can't get any worse and wants to leave and not look back.

Wait, there was one more that I absolutely loved; it was "Fine Print" because it's about this guy who was looked down upon in his family because he "...wasn't leaving behind any legacy...." He goes to Bangkok for business trips often and on this trip he is going to be there for three weeks and also needs to pay off some bets he had made. Before he did anything he went to a bar and met this mysterious woman who would give him anything he wants but he has to give one thing to her. This story was good to me because I love when I read about people that get what they want but have something that hold them back from complete happiness.

I would say that "Portraits in the Dark" is for people of the age of thirteen and higher. I look forward to reading more books by Nancy O. Greene.

Nancy O. Greene's short stories collection certainly lives up to its title. The nine stories are varied in form, style, and content, but all are dark and psychologically complex and full of vivid imagery the suck the reader into the murkiest depths of the human psyche.

Some stories ("A Guy Named Pierce") are more expiremental, while others take on a "fantasy" element ("Fine Print" and "The Artifact"), while one in particular ("The Descent of Man") seems oddly out of place in the otherwise fine ensemble of tales.

Greene is at her best when she really gets deep inside her characters' heads. "The Affair" is a shockingly effective little piece that puts a new spin on the old "obsessive husband" story. Greene shows a deeply moving and humanist side with her "Darkened Sky" that gives us a "day-in-the-life" slice of a troubled young girl dealing with her harsh surroundings and lack of options in life. Greene shines brightest when she laces her talent for introspective first-person narration with an acerbic wit in the delightfully grotesque one-woman show of bitterness and madness entitled "Down the Rabbit Hole."

Greene's collection is a slim volume that can be easily devoured in one or two sittings, but won't soon be forgotten.

I don't try to conjure a single word to describe a given book, but in this case the word "lingering" comes to mind when I think about the stories in Nancy O. Greene's Portraits in the Dark. This is subtle writing that sort of wraps around you unawares. There's also a surprising degree of variety in play here, in both content and approach. Bad decisions, bad luck, and sometimes a combination of the two force Greene's characters into vulnerable and sometimes dangerous positions. Greene is at her best when she delves deeply into the human mind to stir the juices of mental illness, obsession, and insanity. I especially liked the way a disturbed character's dialogue would suddenly take on manic proportions, taking me right along with it as my own reading pace quickened along with the breathless pace of the character.

Things start off rather tame with "Fine Print," a story in which a salesman down on his luck - largely by his own devices - meets an enchanting, distinctly unusual young lady who seems to promise much more than a single night's entertainment. "The Artifact" treads rather familiar horror ground with its story of a priceless, supposedly cursed statue exchanging hands, but it plays out quite pleasingly, after riding a suspenseful seesaw between reality and surrealism. "Darkened Sky" is a somewhat conventional story told from the perspective of a teenager forced to pit her dreams of escaping the squalor and dysfunctionality of life with a drug addict mother against the reality of just surviving in her dangerous neighborhood. "Descent of Man" hearkens back to the adventure tales of an Ambrose Bierce, although I think it may be a little too derivative and subdued to pack a real punch.

"The Affair" is a titillating story about an agoraphobic, possibly deranged man who falls under the spell of his long-lost, invisible friend from childhood when he becomes convinced his wife is cheating on him. This story's kicker of an ending pales in comparison to that of "A Guy Named Pierce," however, a story which is all the more powerful for its grounding in reality. This isn't one of the stories briefly mentioned on the back cover, but it's my favorite story in the collection. "Down the Rabbit Whole" is another compelling story in the form of a confessional of a young woman who is obviously disturbed but may or may not be guilty of murder. This story resonates because of its implications for real life - how to do you judge the testimony of a prime suspect who obviously has psychological problems?

A couple of very short stories round out the collection, but Portraits in the Dark really thrives on its more significant explorations of the human psyche. I would not describe the book as horror - certainly not in the traditional sense - but it will certainly appeal to those with dark appetites, as Nancy O. Greene basically takes the reader on a fascinating tour of the realms of the human psyche normally closed to visitors.

Throughout history, no presidential administration needed to be given more benefit of the doubt than that of Gerald Ford. While other administrations had to come into existence as a consequence of death by natural causes or assassination, only Ford had to follow a person who resigned in disgrace. The political atmosphere was forever changed by the actions of Richard Nixon, as the American public no longer took the word of the president on faith. Jimmy Carter, who defeated Ford in the next election, made a simple, effective campaign pledge, "I will never lie to the American people."
However despite all of those problems, the sheer resilience and strength of the American political system was demonstrated, and that is the main theme of the book. Yes, Ford had his faults and probably could not have otherwise gained the presidency, but he is a good man and was the right person for the times. As someone addicted to the political theater, I was mesmerized by Watergate, disgusted with Nixon and sometimes laughed at Ford. And yet, I still liked him, and do so even more now that I have read this book. Given all the political problems, Ford did many things about as well as could be done. His downfall was the one really big mistake that he made, namely the premature pardon of Nixon.
Had he waited longer to issue the pardon, more could have come out, tensions would have been eased and the act would not have been quite so controversial. While I know why he did it, I will never understand why he felt he had to do it so soon. The behaviors of Nixon even as the pardon was being discussed and described in the book are amazing, showing a man who was still contemptuous of the political system. A delayed pardon may have altered that.
Gerald Ford was not a great president in terms of great accomplishments, initiatives or rhetoric. However, he was and is a decent man who was forced to pick up after an indecent one. For that reason he needs to be respected for what he did, helped make the political system work. This description of his presidency is a tribute to that decency and I encourage you to read it and pay a little more attention to him the next time you see him speak. I know I will.

Greene adroitly recognizes that Ford's domestic legislative proposals faced staunch opposition from a Democratically controlled Congress. In foreign affairs, Ford failed to get SALT II ratified and an Egyptian-Israeli accord never materialized during his term. In addition, the author acknowledges that Ford used assertiveness in the Mayaguez incident. Furthermore, Greene avers that Ford received bad publicity from the press. Finally, Greene argues that Ford did not make a secret bargain with Nixon for a Presidential pardon. This book gives a balanced account about a much maligned President.

This book is a well-researched and thought provoking book. It is the best book on a bad subject. The author obviously knows what he is talking about, sometimes to the detriment of the reader. Very in-depth. This is NOT the place to start for a study of Gerald Ford. It may be the place to end.

Gerald Ford is not the most popular of presidents to write about. He's almost forgotten in studies of America after 1945. This book gives him his due. Profesor Greene does a fine job of examing the important issues that faced Ford, like "stagflation," the Mayaguez incident, and dealing with the Cold War. It's a balanced account and written for scholars and the general reader.

Gerald Ford is our most underrated modern president. Many books have, and continue to be, written on Nixon, Carter and Reagan, but few on Ford. This work helps one to both grasp and understand the pros and cons of Ford's tenure, as well as the turbulent, uncertain mid 70s. I came away seeing Gerald Ford as a competent man, and a solid president. I believe this very good book could have been better in one area. Greene, like Kissinger, Leslie Stahl, Tip Oneil, et. al., focuses on Ford the healer. To me this limits the work, as Ford's policies have grown in stature after two decades of review. His focus on a balanced budget , and his veto activity to that end, stand in sharp contrast to words and non-deeds ofhis successors. His handling of the Mayaguez incident helped re-establish presidential power over the lopsided war powers act. As well, Ford's signing the Helsinki agreements over opposition helped bring an end to the Soviet Union--a human rights stand that gave Carter a foundation for his work. I believe the nation would have been better off with a Ford victory in 1976. Overall, Greenes work should be read by anyone wanting to study Ford's presidency. It is a valuable resource on an era few have studied.