Greene Books

I was doing a very detailed colored pencil painting as a gift, and desperately needed a book which contained outlines regarding techniques on creating specific textures. I did not want an "ego book" which only showed an artists works and a tiny bit of "how to," but I also did not want an agonizing this-is-how-you-draw resource.

This book covered all the bases for me. Though I agree with previous reviewers in that I wish it had been a little more detailed in its presentation of instructions, the success I still achieved from the pages was still more than I had had with any other book in my colored pencil library (the exception being Ann Kullberg's Colored Pencil Portraits which is truly the master work for me).

Despite its lack of a detailed step-by-step, you can't go wrong with this book as a reference material. The information presented about burnishing and the use of solvents was a lifesaver for me and my own colored pencil work. I consider it the best quick and handy guide out there for overcoming troublesome textures.

This book is supposed to be for beginners, however, it barely touches on the basics (a mere 20 pages). It does contain a 100 pages of examples of textures, but the instructions are practically non-existant. It does give you a list of colors used to achieve the look, but the book does not explain why these colors are used. This makes it difficult to adapt the instuctions to work for a different color flower, for example.

A MUCH better book is "Colored Pencil Solution Book". I bought both, and the "Solution" book has a very extensive explanation of techniques and how colors work (Such as, when applying a color from the opposite side of the color wheel on top of another, it will neutralize the bottom one, making it grayer and more muted. Layering green on top of red, for example).Colored Pencil Solution Book

I agree with a previous reviewer who stated that there were not enough how tos in the book. The book does demonstrate that wonderful pictures can be created with colored pencils. It needs more details especially for beginners like me.

The real merit of this book is the absolutely gorgeous drawings which, if not for the title, I wouldn't have beleived were colored pencil. It is wonderful to see colored pencil treated with the same legitamacy as acrylic or oils, and I now look forward to "painting" with my pencils.
The most useful aspect of the book is the rev iew of materials, where the author breaks down how to use rubber cement thinner, odorless turpentine, and colored markers to enhance your colored pencils, as well as various artistic tools.
Before I used this book, my colored pencils always were grainy, and I didn't even really realize it. There were too many "flecks", too much white showing through the paper. This book taught me a technique called burnishing, which has dramatically and instantly improved my drawings, I'm sure it can do the same for you. I also am experimenting more with layers, after looking at the phenominal results that can be achieved.
My only complaint is the lack of detailed how-to's. The individual colors used are explained, and there is some break down of the process, but not enough to produce satisfactory results. However, I think it is definatley worth the modest price, and would recommend it to anyone interested in this medium.

I have a Bachelor degree in drawing and had no problem getting the hang of any drawing tool except for coloured pencils. Several years ago I took a class specifically on drawing with colour pencil and was disappointed when the teacher told me that I'd have to settle for a light layered application of the pencil on paper so as not to develop wax bloom--what I wanted out of the pencil was rich, vibrant colours, not something washed out. I put down my Prismacolours and resigned having to use them to colour in my anatomy colouring book, not for actual drawing.

That's why I was encouraged when I found and read my way through "Creating Textures in Colored Pencil". The author mentions the use of burnishing to build layered colour so it is rich and vibrant, as well as the use of solvents. He also mentions different coloured pencils, like water-soluable pencils, which I normally would use not for drawing but for fine touches on my watercolours, and oil-based coloured pencils. After reading this book it feels like a whole new world of drawing has opened up to me, in addition to my use of graphite, conte crayon, pastels, and of course what I already do in paint.

Incidentally, the author addresses dealing with wax bloom by spraying the drawing with several layers of workable fixative--I've also heard that wiping the bloom with a paper towel will remove the cloudiness.

Mr. Greene includes several examples of items to draw, including step-by-step instructions with colours mentioned. I'm sure those would be great for the beginning/intermediate student to build up skills and confidence; that sort of thing doesn't appeal to me as I'm used to grabbing tools and drawing from life.

I think this is a great basic book on how to handle the medium. As for handling textures, I thought some were very well done while others were not as realistic as I would like. It has very nice full colour reproduction and is very easy to read.

If you only buy one book about the Llzzie Borden murder case, this is the one to have.

Probably the best and most lucid book on the subject. Judge Sullivan presents the facts of the case in a fair light without personal embellishments.

My book came and was what I had expected. My transaction was satisfactory.

This is an analysis of the Borden case from a legal point of view by a former judge. The facts are well-presented and the legal insights and arguments are convincing, but the impartial reader will sense and be annoyed by the author's clear bias against Lizzie throughout much of the book. The book would have been strengthened by a fairer ad more even-handed, two-sided approach. Even so, it's an excellent piece of factual and analytical work.

David Rehak
author of "Did Lizzie Borden Axe For It?"

The last page gives the personal history of Robert Sullivan, a judge of the Massachusetts Superior Court, who presided over a hundred murder cases. The 'Bibliography' lists many books, few of which are readily available. It does not list the books by Edmund Pearson and Edward Radin which covered this case for general readers. The one best book since 1991 is David Kent's "Forty Whacks". The best solution is still Arnold Brown's book. Sullivan seems quite biased in Appendix III about "the purchase of possession of ... poison", given that Lizzie didn't purchase or possess a poison; the attempted purchaser could have been a look-alike. Professor Borchard's book was available to Sullivan. Many believed that Lizzie was guilty and paid off somebody to be found 'not guilty'. Arnold Brown explained why Lizzie did not commit the murders and paid off the authorities to be found 'not guilty'. An appointed judge should know how things work in politics. You can study Sullivan's picture and judge his personality for yourself. Agnes de Mille's book quoted the daughters of a physician about the murders: there was a secret that was never revealed.

The 'Preface' considers the fascination of the unsolved murders of the Bordens. It may be due to the logical paradox that Lizzie was the remaining prime suspect but she couldn't have done it. No blood spatter on her clothes, not murder weapon, being seen outside at the time of Andrew's death. The legend of a cold-blooded spinster killer seems to meet the inner need of people who believe it. Sullivan read the two-thousand page transcript on microfilm to give his own opinions in this book. The record cannot contain the actual environment seen and heard by the jury, who decided the facts in this case. A transcript doesn't capture the tone of the answers.

Sullivan's bias is show by his dependence on the words of 90-year old Abby Borden Whitehead Potter who was ten years old at the time, and was never interviewed by anyone. That is not an astonishing fact (p.4)! She was both a child and not a witness. The Great Depression saw the decline of Fall River in the 1920s (p.6). In the early 18th century the Bordens owned all of Fall River (p.7). In the 19th century industrial Fall River was the third largest city in the state. A few families formed the ruling class of Fall River (p.8). Why did Lizzie change her name (p.20)? Fashions change, "Lizzie" became the generic name for a servant (the 'tin lizzie'). Sullivan's story about the "Day of Horror" is biased against Lizzie. You have to read other books to know this. Sullivan's explanation of 19th century law is not exact. Massachusetts in 1877 was the first state to require Medical Examiners, used in Europe for decades (p.43).

Sullivan was puzzled over D.A. Knowlton's offer (p.54). Was this just a ruse to learn defense strategy? Lizzie was indicted only after Alice Russell testified again (p.55). Lizzie pled "not guilty" (p.56). The Fall River ruling class supported Lizzie (p.60). [Did they know the secret?] Sullivan's prejudice is shown by comments on ME Dolan's testimony (p.123). Sullivan comments on Jennings' statement on reasonable doubt (p.145). Sullivan's bias caused his error about the newspaper advertisement on page 37 (p.161). In his charge to the jury Judge Justin Dewey subtly argued for the defense (p.172). Dewey was never sanctioned for this; was it for the sake of justice? Sullivan's bias is shown on page 182. The "expert testimony" was against the facts known to the jurymen who slaughtered cows, pigs, and sheep on their farms. After the trial Knowlton was elected Attorney General of the state, and Jennings was elected D.A. of the county. Was this the reward for their actions in the trial?

This would have been a better book if Sullivan had squelched his bias in telling the story, but unloaded in a long final chapter. Many of his quibbles were answered in Arnold Brown's book, which solved the crime and explained the discrepancies. Unlike most authors over the past seven decades Brown was honest enough to admit he couldn't prove it. But no one else can, ever.

Robert Sullivan makes a strong case that Lizzie Borden might have gotten off, even if she committed the crime. Oddly enough for a judge, he confuses this with proving that she did commit it. Sullivan starts off with the assumption that she was guilty, briskly rejects any other possibilities, and lo and behold, he finds her to be guilty.

I would recommend this book to anyone with a strong interest in the case. It has all sorts of information that is not included elsewhere about a similar crime that could have thrown off suspicion, the backgrounds of the jurors, etc.

Sullivan simply rejects the idea that anyone else could have done it. The suggestion that it might have be Bridget Sullivan is quickly dismissed without examinaton: "Bridget didn't do it."

I feel informed, but not at all convinced. I recommend Kent's Forty Whacks: New Evidence in the Life and Legend of Lizzie Borden as the best book that I have ever read on the subject, and Edgar Radin's Lizzie Borden: The untold story (A Dell book) as the second.

The Red House Mystery is an amateur detective story written by the author of the Winnie the Pooh books. Milne wrote his only novel for his father, an avid reader of mysteries. Could the children's book author really write an entertaining mystery? Not especially.

Set in an English country house, the story begins by introducing the owner, Mark, having breakfast with his guests while complaining about a later meeting to be had with his estranged brother, Robert. Once the guests leave to play golf for the day, Antony, a friend of one of the guests, wanders up to the house to discover Robert dead and Mark nowhere to be found. Anthony and his friend, Bill, one of the guests, take it upon themselves to investigate the mystery.

Antony is Sherlock Holmes-light; he shares some qualities with the famous sleuth (and even refers to his sidekick as "my Watson"), but he fails to really distinguish himself, hovering in Holmes' shadow. He knows he has a similar role; he just doesn't pull it off as masterly. After all, he's just in it for a little bit of adventure. The mystery itself seems intriguing initially, but the solving of it is pretty uninteresting. Antony makes some smart deductions along the way, but they're more tedious than exciting to read about. The stock characters added nothing except for Mark's cousin, whose interests aren't explained till the end. And once the mystery gets solved (in a rather cliche manner), there's little satisfaction to be had. Antony and Bill just having fun with their first chance to solve a murder mystery, but the plot and simple style fail neither convey their fun nor present anything that hasn't already been done.

"I envy those readers who are coming to this lighthearted masterpiece for the first time," writes Douglas G. Greene in the introduction of A. A. Milne's "The Red House Mystery." Since Greene is considered the leading expert on John Dickson Carr--one of the greatest Golden Age detective novelists--I was tremendously excited by his recommendation and plunged into the book straightaway.

It took me a little under two weeks to finish. Yes, for a book that isn't even two hundred pages. The story features Antony Gillingham and Bill Beverley as a rather unlikely Holmes and Watson who set out to unravel a bizarre murder at the Red House. Although Gillingham and Beverley make an interesting pair, the way they tackle the problem is a bit too languid and leisurely for my taste (and I usually thrive on cozy mysteries), and since there is virtually no action and almost no other major characters to focus on--well, it's not exactly a page-turner. There are a few nifty plot tricks--one twist involving a door key is particularly clever--but the resolution (which falls back on that most irritating of cliches, the letter of confession) doesn't carry much in the way of suspense or surprise.

Still, it's all very witty and well-written, and the droll humor that spawned "Winnie-the-Pooh" is very much in evidence. Anglophiles will treasure it for its delineation of mid-1920s England alone. But I was expecting a masterpiece, and as a detective novel, "The Red House Mystery" is no masterpiece--but then again, Mr. Milne is no John Dickson Carr.

This was the most fun I've had reading a mystery since I read the Hardy Boys as a kid. It seems you should be reading it under the covers with a flashlight. In The Red House Mystery, A.A. Milne (of Pooh fame) lets us pal around with Tony Gillingham, a jack-of-all-trades who is trying his hand a being a detective. The setting is an English country house loaded with guests, including the British major, the willful actress, and the dim-but-lovable young athlete. These are stock characters; Tony and his friend Bill even gleefully refer to each other as "Holmes" and "Watson". It's all very playful, despite the corpse. So much so that Tony and Bill are guilty about how much fun they are having.

There are tons of mentions of amateur theatricals and acting. Tony is playing at being a detective and so is the reader, which draws you into the story alongside him. In a way you are competing with Tony and Bill to solve the crime. It's a fair contest: only amateurs allowed. Milne gives you all the clues, even to the point of saying things like "This would be important later." In the reader's head a siren goes off and a sign lights up saying "CLUE". Tony and Bill bounce theories off each other and the theories change as the clues mount up. Still, Tony is always ahead of Bill (and probably the reader). He knows the real question in a mystery is not "How?" but "Why?"

The best parts are the gasps of surprise and moments of anticipation while we wait in darkness for the sounds of approaching footsteps. Milne has a great way of setting the mood, whether it's nervous tension or eager curiosity. A fun mystery is like opening up a big present: You can't wait to know what it is. Milne conveys this sense of "I need to know" in this his one-and-only mystery novel. If you're like me, you'll need to know and keep saying to yourself, "One more chapter and I'll put out the light."

The Red House Mystery by A.A Milne was a mystery set in the late 1900's. The story was about a lady named Miss Stevens in the red house. There is a man or a woman that is killing people, so the public has to try and figure out who did it, when and how. This is probably one of the best mystery stories I have ever read. This book really had a lot of suspense and surprising points. I think you'll be very shocked about what happens at the end. I recommend this book to whoever likes mysteries or who is at a high school level.

NOT REALLY A REVIEW JUST A VOTE FOR THIS DELIGHTFUL BOOK. THOSE WHO LOVE ENGLISH MYSTERIES WILL LIKE THIS.

This official strategy guide contains very helpful information on how to defeat each race, including the Interstellar Concordium. It explains other aspects of the game not included in the manual. Highly recommended.

Very neat, also very informative on how to beat the game.

Great source for information on ships weapons, assests, and tactics. Shows tactics for ships and fighters of each individual race, and elaboraates on how races could respond to the tactics of other races. Based on many tactics from SFB (the board game SFC2 is derived from)as well as new tactics established in SFC, it is an invaluable source for the beginner to moderate player. Better than any previous strategy guide for SFC, and even the expert player can get something useful out of it. I'll give it 2 thumbs up along with all the stars :)

This book had a few good things, like some training activities and basic strategies, but much of the info was wrong like how the plasma I's work or some of the ship stats in the back of the book. Now that the game has went through so many revisions to fix bugs and balance the game, the book is completely lacking or incorrect for most of it's information. No info on Plasma D's since they are new, and the ship information in the back is even more incorrect. Don't waste your time with this one. Wait for an updated version.

I bought this book thinking that it would supplement the instruction guide well. I was completely dissapointed. The strategy guide, like the manual, is well written, but doesn't contain as much useful information as it should. Much of the content is straight from the manual, some of it being word for word. I was hoping for some detailed information on the fighters, but they pretty much just gave the generic "average, above average, etc." comments like they did for the rest of the ships for each race (both in the manual as well as again, in the strategy guide). It's sad because I can go and yank this information from a text document in one of the installation directories. I was also hoping for a detailed information sheet for all the ships like the fold out sheet found with the first game. The strategy guide had this but for the few ships that I've looked up from memory, only 1 has had the right information. The others had incorrect information which makes the one useful thing in the book, useless. Some of the strategies and training exercises are decent, giving this book the one star I rated it. Overall, you are better off sticking with the manual and getting any other information you need from the internet.

Bob Greene has penned a very readable work about five past Presidents: Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan and Bush I. Instead of asking them the age old questions, he asks them things like: "what is your favorite movie?" and "do you shop for clothes like a normal person does?" I sensed he took them by surprise with many of his questions. You get to see a side of these men you have never seen. The saddest part of the book comes when he goes to interview Reagan right after he has made his Alzheimer's announcement.

Bob Greene was the laziest writer in Chicago. For years, he got away with writing column after column on these topics: Michael Jordan, the Beach Boys, how much better everything was when he was a teenager in Bexley, Ohio in 1964, Bob Evans, and the annoyance to end all annoyances, Baby Richard. Many of us were relieved when he was dismissed from his Tribune post for personal reasons.

Now Bob is back, with this sometimes interesting but mostly maddening volume about ex-Presidents of the United States. Any other writer would have told us more about these men and how they spend their post-Presidency careers and retirements. Not Bob! He spends the majority of the book discussing how the presidents interact with Bob and what each president means to Bob.

Thus, we see Richard Nixon as someone who repeatedly tells his secretary that he has more time for Bob. We see George Bush Sr. making a speech and referencing a conversation he had earlier in the day with Bob, and we hear how Bob feels about it. We get Bob's reaction to Gerald Ford. We get a pointless digression about Jack Nicklaus. We get Bob's visit to a Ronald Reagan Library dinner honoring Yitzhak Rabin. Finally, in the book's most self-indulgent moment, we find out that Nixon sent Bob's infant son an inscribed book. And through all this, Bob doesn't even bother to interview his generational peer, Bill Clinton. You'd think they could have traded memories of Beach Boys songs.

The few tidbits we can get about the presidents themselves are interesting - for example, Nixon had to take his daily walks at 5:30 AM because he would be mobbed otherwise, or Jimmy Carter trying to rest his hurt knee because he would be taking a group of inner-city Atlanta youths on a ski trip the next week, or Gerald Ford and his group of high school football friends who still get together. But ultimately, it's a Bob-fest suitable only for Bob's few fans who are left.

And in case you were wondering, Bob makes three separate references to Columbus (Bexley is a Columbus suburb) and Ohio State University, and mentions Michael Jordan once. You can't teach an old Bob new tricks!

Bob Greene's breezy, nostalgic journey to chat with 5 of our former Chief Executives is a great book to give as a gift, or to pleasantly pass the time in a single sitting. His enthusiasm and humor shine through in his chatty chapters with Nixon, Carter and Ford...all three statesmen come off as interesting, intelligent men (even Nixon with his always astounding idiosyncracies). With the elder Bush, however, Greene seems to have less to work with, so fills out the chapter with his own reflections on the man and his legacy. The final chapter, on Ronald Reagan, is certainly poignant as no interview was possible due to the onset of Alzheimer's Disease.

Greene is a great writer and I'd suggest a follow up on either the former First Ladies or the women of the Senate, entitled SORORITY.

If it has one weakness, it is the same weakness as Greene's books about Michael Jordan. After a certain point, there is a feeling that you are hearing a man telling his innermost thoughts to famous people to see what they think about his thoughts. On the one hand, it's interesting. On the other, it's narcissitic. One wonders if this was a quest for information or validation. But you do come away with the feeling that it takes a common and uncommon man to become president. Only an uncommon person could have written this book.

It's not unusual for people to visit presidential libraries and museums or collect presidential memorabilia. There is even a surprising number of people who seek out presidential gravesites (and write books about it, like C-SPAN's Brian Lamb). But it's far rarer for someone to attempt to meet and spend time with former presidents themselves. This book is the story of Bob Greene's effort to collect the whole set.

As other reviewers have noted, this book is as much about Greene as it is about the living historical markers he sees the ex-presidents as having become. Americans have lived with president as Caesar, president as criminal, even retrospectively, president as demigod. Now we have president as tourist souvenir.

Back during the 1992 campaign, when that young woman asked then-candidate Clinton the famous "boxers or briefs" question, I remember thinking, "You have a chance to ask a likely future president a question, and that's the best you could do? Shame on you." I had something of the same reaction to this book. Greene explicitly set out to be non-political and non-confrontational, and if that's the direction he had to take to get in the door, than so be it. But it makes Greene's subjects -- whom, he argues, have fallen from exalted heights and are all mournfully cognizant of what they have lost -- seem even more banal to wind up sitting in their living rooms, offices, or hotels discussing sweaters or college football with Bob Greene. Only Jimmy Carter comes across as really *doing something* -- and consequently Greene in those chapters is reduced to part of the hyperkinetic Carter's entourage instead of being the sole object of hours of his subjects' attention, as he is in most of the rest of the book. (A great companion for this section, by the way, is Steven Hayward's "The Real Jimmy Carter: How Our Worst Ex-President Undermines American Foreign Policy, Coddles Dictators and Created the Party of Clinton and Kerry".)

Greene comes to the realization that "you can be elected out of [the presidency], but ... apparently, in some ways, you can never really leave" (p. 182). This "Hotel California" existence is a sign of how much we invest in our presidents, emotionally, symbolically, and even spiritually. Even a man like Gerald Ford, who filled the office for little more than two years, is elevated -- apotheosized -- for all time. Greene suggests Ford's image may show up on a coin someday (Ford himself, entirely rightly, considers the idea laughable). To see how this process affects the men themselves, and to try to tease some insights into the men's personalities out of Greene's readable but not especially deep prose, is probably the best way to approach this book.

The book gives a very high level overview of what was done for a particular project, which is nice, but not really helpful. I thought it would be more detailed. Also, since it is an older book it is hard to find examples of the pieces they are talking about. I did find some on YouTube but not many.

Got the book in bad condition, the cover was ripped, the pages were crumpled

Mr. Greene displays knowledge of the subject, an eye for the obsurd and unusual, and a passion for motion pictures/pixels. Not bad for a freshman effort...three thumbs up!

At last! A book that tackles this potentially dry subject with intelligence, wit and fun! I cannot imagine a reader (tekkie or not) who wouldn't both enjoy and learn from "How Did They Do That?". The author's humor, experience and vast understanding of the subject enfuse this book with richness and playfulness. I have learned and continue to learn many new ideas about motion graphics. The illustrations and photography are beautifully done. In short, Mr. Greene's book is very enjoyable, highly educational, and entirely satisfying.

This book helps me EVERY time I need help on a new project. It demystifies so many different processes and techniques, I feel more gutsy when I take on new design challenges. A few of my clients also notice that my work has come up to a new level of excellence -- and I know that this book has helped make a difference. Yes, the pictures are awesome, PLUS the writing style makes it so easy understand and even PLAYFUL, which makes studying fun and gives me more confidence in client meetings and when I'm off on my own turning around a project on tight deadline. Also, I find that when I explain technical stuff to clients now, I'm a better communicator because of this book -- and my clients love that, of course. When a book makes a difference like that, it's a rare gem.

Graham Greene the eminent British novelist published this minor, suspensful and entertaining work in 1932. In Great Britain the novel is entitled "Stamboul Train". The novel is short but has a murder and interesting characters to keep your attention. The characters are well sketched and the novel has deeper depth than the typical spy thriller.
Among the players are:
Coral Musker-a beautiful but poor chorus girl traveling from England to appear in a musical in Istanbul. She falls in love on the train and becomes involved in the pursuit of a Yugolslavian Communist leader Dr.
Czinner. Coral is the most human andsympathetic character in the whole business. She is touching, pathetic and deserving of a better fate than the one she receives.
Carelton Myatt is a young businessman from London. He is on the way to Turkey to cement a business deal. He is also a womanizer who initiates Coral into sex. Later he sets his cap for Janet Pardoe a half-Jewish niece of Mr. Steiner a wealthy businessman. Myatt is a despicable character who seeks his own ego satisfactions not trifling with such things as true love. As the novel ends his future looks bright but we the readers do not like him. Greene chose to make him Jewish opening himself up for charges of Antisemetic caricatures. Much of British society in the 1930s was adverse to persons of the Jewish faith. The novel was written shortly before Hitler became German Chancellor. It should be stated that Greene served bravely in World War II as a spy for the British Government. I do not think he was overtly antisemetic.
Mabel Warren is a lesbian and obnoxious journalist who is eager to interview Czinner and Savery who is a popular novelist. She travels with Janet Pardoe but when dumped sets her sights on Coral.
Josef Grunlich is a robber and murderer who flees Vienna escaping to Constantinople. Grunlich is a despicable human being.
Greene manages to interwine the lives of all these people into an exciting narrative. This is a minor work but is written in the author's cool style with colorful use of metaphor and a good use of mirror imagery. Penguin has reissued this novel in a beautiful edition for the Greene 100th year birthday celebration which was held in 2004. Christopher Hitchns the acerbic critic has a fine introduction to the novel included in the Penguin edition. This book is a good introduction to Graham Greene one of our greatest modern novelist.

Orient Express is a time capsule. It was written in the early 1930s and, as such, captures the world of the inter-war period in continental Europe. The book's strengths and weaknesses spring from this perspective. The strength are that Greene shows us a world that was rather bleak and yet vibrant. The downside is that anti-Semitism and class-based prejudices are evident both in the character's and in Greene's attitudes. However, as a time capsule of a lost era, this book is worth reading.

I find Graham Greene to be almost unreadable. I know that this is going to be considered near blasphemous, since literary critics have heaped such praise upon him and so many reviewers here have done likewise.

However, in a word, I find him depressing. His characters suffer from interminable analysis of their every thought and action. The larger story is merely a vehicle for these internal monologues that, frankly, I don't find particularly insightful or interesting. It was V. S. Pritchett who first remarked about Greene's 'perverse and morbid tendencies'. While Greene is no doubt highly intelligent and capable of a very high level of writing, the end result, for me, is something very unpleasant.

I first read 'The Heart Of The Matter'. God, what an endlessly depressing scene! Nor was there any particular character I could sympathize with or even care about. In spite of my negative reaction to this highly praised work, I thought I would give him another try with 'Orient Express' (a.k.a., 'Stamboul Train'), thinking that in this 'entertainment' as Greene called it I would actually be, well, entertained. Instead, I get a trainload of depressing characters whose every thought is scrutinized to an excruciating degree.

Example (from Myatt's suspicions about his business dealings):

'It was odd. He had chosen the samples with particular care. It was natural of course that even Stein's currants should not all be inferior, but when so much was suspected, a further suspicion was easy. Suppose, for example, Mr. Eckman had been doing a little trade on his own account, had allowed Stein some of the firm's consignment of currants, in order temporarily to raise the quality, had, on the grounds of that improved quality, indeed, induced Moults' to bid for the business. Mr. Eckman must be having uneasy moments now, turning up the time-table, looking at his watch, thinking that half Myatt's journey was over. Tomorrow, he thought, I will send a telegram and put Joyce in charge; Mr. Eckman shall have a month's holiday. Joyce will keep an eye on the books, and he pictured the scurrying to and fro, as in an ants' nest agitated by a man's foot, a telephone call from Eckman to Stein or from Stein to Eckman, a taxi ordered here and dismissed there, a lunch for once without wine, and then the steep office steps and at the top of them the faithful rather stupid Joyce keeping his eye upon the books. And all the time, at the modern flat, Mrs. Eckman would sit on her steel sofa knitting baby clothes for the Anglican mission, and the great dingy Bible, Mr. Eckman's first deception, would gather dust on its unturned leaf.'

Lord have mercy. This stuff is like fingernails on a chalkboard!

William Golding called Green 'the ultimate twentieth-century chronicler of consciousness and anxiety'. This does not, however, make for entertaining reading. Greene's writing is an examination of the human condition totally devoid of lightness, humor (at least as I understand the word) or romance. His characters are an unpleasant, unhappy bunch.

Ultimately all his writing reveals is the real Graham Greene.

I have enjoyed a number of Greene's novels, but was disappointed with Orient Express. For a better read and more compelling characters, I recommend Greene's later work including The Quite American, The Comedians or even The Heart of the Matter.

Of course far from his masterworks, this novel is still better than most which plague the bestsellers lists today. It is one of the first novels written by Greene, on of which he calls "entertainments", to distinguish them from his more serious novels. Nevertheless, here in an early work his recurrent subjects loom already: hope and regret; the moral loneliness of each individual; the inevitability of fate; the consciousness, or lack of it, of good and evil.

A group of people are travelling from Ostende (Belgium) to Istanbul, each one with their fears or illusions. During the long way they meet and interact, love and forget each other. Carleton Myatt, a young Jewish merchant, is on his way to solve a problematic business situation with his employees in Turkey. During the trip he meets and seduces (through kindness and sacrifice) a young starlet of nightclubs who only dreams of love and welfare. Dr. Czinner (sinner?) a socialist revolutionary from Yugoslavia, is on the same train bound for Belgrade, but he is discovered and harassed by Mabel Warren, a British, alcoholic and lesbian journalist. The interaction between the characters creates an increasing tension which is only resolved, for good or evil, when each one of them meets his or her particular fate. Foremost is the heartbreaking story of the young dancer, who loses love in the middle of a snowstorm and political intrigue of which she understands nothing. In this book, Greene lets us see the great qualities that would later lead him to write his great novels.

Goes into a great overall review where the documentation falls short. It provided some insightful examples that helped us address a problem we had for weeks. Only shortfall, even though it has a lengthy example on dynamic querying, it needs more documentation on the true capabilities of the pl/sql OWA_UTIL functions/procedures.

As an introductory book its fine but as a `Most Complete' you want it to expand beyond basic examples into e.g. interaction between the cartridge types, practical implementation advice etc.

I'd have used the money back guarantee if there was one as I expected a bit more from it.

This book does a good job of providing an overview of the architecture surrounding OAS 3.0, but certainly does not hold to its claim as "The Most Complete Reference." Its biggest shortfall is its lack of detail concerning Inter-Cartridge Exchange (ICX). It mentions this topic at least a few times, and explains the premise behind ICX, but doesn't provide any examples of how ICX is accomplished from a PL/SQL cartridge to a C cartridge, for example. A good book for people who are just learning about OAS and want an introduction and then some.

The text provides more of a basic over view of Ows 3.0 and it's capabilites. It dosen't fully in my opinion get to the meat of the server. it's strength's and weakness.

Does a reasonable job of covering Oracle Web Application Server 3.0, but the Oracle Press book is better.

I bought the book to learn more about the actual ranch. I got too much Bamberger, too little Selah. The title of the book led me to believe that it would be mostly about the ranch and the actual restoration details. Living near the ranch, I also found some of the details to be inaccurate.

I do agree with Bamberger's premise that there is very little the government can do to protect the environment........ short of locking us out of it. I also found it a little ironic that he seems to have disdain for the very system that empowered him to even undertake a project of this nature to begin with.

I am totally satisfied with the service. It seemed to some almost before I'd realized that I had actually order it! BTW it is a great read!

Fairly well written, too much about subject's prior life & not enough
about the Blanco County land restoration, a little interesting info on
the primary subject & a whole lot about his past life, careers, business
success, eco-nuts, and doing things the hard way at great expense. For
a similar & far better book, read Flat Top, about the reclamation of
Flat Top Ranch in Bosque County with similar problems & terrain.

I was so impressed by J.David Bamberger's compelling story! People like him--hard working, resourceful, personable, inspirational--are such a rarity these days. He has done some amazing environmental work, and has cared enough to share what he has learned with others. The strikingly beautiful illustrations in this book, done by his wife, Margaret, have a simple, timeless quality.

Water from Stone is an insightful look at the transformation of Selah the Bamberger's Ranch in Blanco County from a worn out piece of the hill country into an impressive environmental and sustainable conservation teaching facility. It is an enjoyable story with a truth is stranger than fiction quality that blends humor with the writer's adept insight. Water from Stone inspires one to go out and improve our land in ways that are practical and sustainable for generations to come.

This book recycles the plot of Rachel Gibson's DAISY's BACK IN TOWN, with the addition of the high school reunion and the secondary characters. Frankly, I thought that Gibson did a better job with the high school lovers getting back together and the reaction of others. All that Greene does in the climactic scene is to have everything else go quiet - no reaction, no comments. In fact, except for the h/h, every other character in this book is hardly even two-dimensional. [Contrast the vividness of Daisy's sister and mother in Gibson's book, and they are not even the lead characters.] Donald? Jeanne's father? Nate's mother? His brothers? Just barely sketched in with a line or two but no character development.

The other issue for me is the way the author deals with the passing of time. She has a dramatic scene, then in the next chapter weeks have passed and the viewpoint is the character looking back on what's happened. Very awkward and it leaches the drama out of the book.

Finally, a big deal is made of Jeanne's dream, then it all comes down to one word: textiles. Huh?? And that's all she wrote.

For a more enjoyable read along similar lines, read DAISY.

If you graduated in the late 1980's you will enjoy the "remember when" factor of this book. The plot was enjoyable but predictable. I enjoyed the honesty of the characters. A nice beach read.

After a failed marriage and new romance with the "perfect" man, Jeanne Clair Cassiday realizes that her romance woes can be attributed to one thing - lack of closure from the one that got away. As her 15-year high school reunion is approaching, she is assigned the task of looking up Nate Donneli, the class heartthrob who was most likely to succeed. After dumping her his freshman year at Princeton, she never heard from him or of him again.

When she stops at his father's car repair shop, she is shocked to discover that Nate Sr. no longer runs the place; the new owner is her Nate. After catching up with each other, she is shocked to find out that he has a 14-year old daughter, and wrongly assumes that she was dumped because of his father status. Turns out that Nate had to give up his dreams of becoming an architect so that he could take care of his siblings after his father suddenly died, leaving the family with very little, but the repair shop (that Nate managed to make very successful). He daughter Caitlin was the product of a one night stand and the mother wanted nothing to do with Nate or Caitlin, so he obtained full custody.

Part of the charm of the story is how quickly the two can assume their old roles - illustrated by how they immediately refer to each other via the pet names (Peanut and Shadow) they gave each other 15 years earlier. Before they can resume their relationship, she needs to break him of his nasty habit to take care of everyone, and open up and let someone else take the burden for a change, and help him find the thief who has been embezzling from his company.

There is a cute secondary romance with the class nerd and a former rock star that took a wrong turn in her career and became an addict.

It is a very well written and tender story that will tug at your heart strings.

WHERE IS HE NOW by Jennifer Greene
April 23, 2005

In WHERE IS HE NOW by Jennifer Greene, Nate Donneli and Jeanne Claire Cassiday are two ex-lovers who were always meant to be. A fifteen-year class reunion is coming up, and this event could be what brings the two together again.

At one time in her life, Jeanne thought for sure that her life and Nate's would be tied together forever. They were sweethearts in high school, but shortly after they both started college, Nate broke off their relationship with no explanation whatsoever.

Jeanne was heartbroken, but in order to get over him she puts her soul into her father's business as a convention event manager, dealing with planning and booking events and also making sure their business stays solvent. While her father was excellent with the customers and clients, he was awful with money.

It is now 15 years later and Jeanne finds herself in charge of the class reunion, along with her friend Tamara, the friend who ended up pursuing her dream and becoming a rock star, and the class nerd Arnold. Jeanne is asked to contact Nate, in the hopes that he will help them with the main speech at the reunion, since he was the one labeled "most likely to succeed". Nate, however, ended up working at his father's garage instead of being the architect he always wanted to be. He felt he was a failure, despite helping to raise his brothers and sisters after his father's death, as well as keeping the business alive.

After learning what happened to Nate after graduation, Jeanne realizes what a success Nate's life really was, but someone needed to point it out to him. There were also feelings of love and attraction between them, and she wanted to resolve any of these feelings before she moved on with her life. She recognized that her love for Nate had stood between her and all the love relationships she had since high school, including a marriage that failed miserably.

Nate now has a successful luxury car business, as well as a precocious teenage daughter. A lot has happened since graduation, and both Claire and Nate slowly rediscover each other and catch up on each other's lives after graduation. Neither had expected to find each other doing what they were doing now, and it was a learning experience for each of them to understand whether their dreams had been fulfilled or not

An interesting subplot involves Arnold, who always had a huge crush on Tamara, and Tamara, who felt that her life was a failure. As the two of them work on the class reunion party, Tamara sees a different side of Arnold and learns a little about her own feelings.

I found myself liking this book, although it wasn't the perfect novel. I enjoyed the various subplots, but felt that there were too many things going on for one book. The story of Arnold and Tamara should have been taken out and saved for a separate book, while the focus should have been on Nate, Claire, and their two families. There was not enough attention made to Claire's father, who I thought had an important story that could have been explored. Overall, however, I feel that this is a book worth reading. It's a good beach read, or can be saved for a rainy day.

Overall, I enjoyed this book. However, I didn't enjoy it as much as I had hoped I would. I liked the characters, I was especially fond of the relationship between Tamara and Arnold and thought they were deserving of their own story, as their relationship/romance didn't really add anything to the relationship between Nate and Jeanne Claire.

I enjoyed the writing, the story flowed well, (I read it in two days) and the conflicts between Jeanne and her Dad and Nate and his family were interesting. I think the thing that bothered me though, and keeps me from giving this book a higher rating is the two conflicts are never really resolved in a satisfactory way. They just sort of end.

I hate that. I hate that I spent the whole book, all three hundred and some odd pages, worrying about the theif in Nate's garage and whether or not Jeanne Claire's dad will make it in business without her, and I get to the end of the book and both conflicts are resolved almost as an after thought.

Aside from that though, it's worth reading.