Hughes Books

My toddlers love this book. We are big Shirley Hughes fans because she creates sweet stories that kids can relate to. Her artwork is full of beautiful colors, little surprises (the cats are very expressive) and familiar scenes. This story is particularly fun because it's a little bit silly but totally realistic. The scenes include characters from many of the Trotter Street stories.

I have just finished reading Dave Hughes, "Big Indian Creek", for about the 10th time. If you are a fly fisherman like me, and one who likes to get out and hike and camp along rivers, this book is for you. Every time I read it I feel like I'm there with Hughes, doing all the things I enjoy. It's a pretty layed back book, but it never fails to conjur up dreams. It always makes me want to drop what I'm doing, and head out the door to enjoy the great out of doors. It will definetly get your mind wandering.

Basics: 2003, hardcover, 628 pages, 600 color photos, 223 illustrations, 288 species, atlas maps

This is an excellent reference to the Canadian province adjacent to Alaska. The book coves all 288 species known at the time of publication and does so with extensively researched information. Although most birds are shown with a color photograph, this book is not meant to be an identification guide. Instead, it is a well documented reference to the distribution, status, habitat, and seasonal presence of each bird within the Yukon Territory.

The value of this book is definitely in its text. The authors have done a great job at collecting data from many sources to compile the information into a very useful account for each bird. The five primary topics covered are distribution, seasonal patterns, nesting, habitat, and noteworthy records. Two other topics vary in length for remarks and for world range.

Each bird is given a large, 4x4 inch map of the Yukon Territory with good geologic detail (rivers, road, lat/long). The presence of the bird is denoted with a coded circle. The circle represents each of the four seasons as well as confirmed breeding. It's interesting to note how many of the sightings are located along major roadways into this remote northern area. Accompanying the map is a seasonal bar-chart displaying the number of records for each of the months. This helps to give a quick, easy-to-understand image of the bird's seasonal presence.

Most of the color photos are good quality, while some of them being are little small or distant. But, these are meant to give the reader a view of the bird and not to be used for identification detail. The number of photos range from 0-4 for each bird. Also included for some birds are black-and-white line drawings.

The first 57 pages of the book offer a good overview of the Yukon's historical and current ecology . Enhanced with 90 photos and maps, the authors provide a good account of the environment, bird history, culture, and conservation.

This is a remarkable book that is equal to or better than any other similar book done on Canada or the US. This large (and heavy) book is a must reference for the northern birder.

I've listed several related books below...
1) The Birds of British Columbia: Vol 1-4 by Campbell et al.
2) The Atlas of Breeding Birds of Alberta by Semenchuk
3) The birds of Alberta by Salt
4) The Birds of Canada by Godfrey
5) Birds of Western Canada by Taverner
6) Guide to the Birds of Alaska by Armstrong
7) The Birds of Alaska by Gabrielson/Lincoln

I first became of Edogawa Rampo a few years ago when a fascinating movie titles "The Mystery of Rampo" was distributed in the US. It used the character of Rampo (a pseudonym for Hirai Taro), a real author who is often considered the father of the Japanese detective story.

This is amazing stuff! Though he was an admirer of western authors like Edgar Allen Poe, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and Maurice Leblanc, Rampo is no mere imitator. He is an original writer with a wicked sense of humor and an eye for the bizarre.

"Black Lizard" is the most famous of the Akechi Kogoro novels. Akechi is a dilletante-detective character. He is often called the 'Japanese Sherlock Holmes' but Akechi is far from being a stereotyped Holmes clone. He has the requisite detective skills like deductive reason, jujutsu, mastery of disguises. He can also be quite ruthless and mercurial and brings a perverse sense of humor to his adventures.

The titular Black Lizard is a beautiful female crime boss with a perverse streak of her own. She loves to collect beautiful things, both gemstones and pretty people who she has stuffed and mounted to preserve their beauty. Her relationship with the detective is the usual matching of wits but is overshadowed by a growing sexual tension between the two.

It is a strange and fascinating read.

BEAST IN THE SHADOWS is a Poe-esque story of love and obsession. A mystery novelist is attracted to a beautiful woman only to learn that she is being stalked by her old lover, a horror novelist who has gone off the deep end. At least that the way it seems, the novel is wonderfully ambiguous. It reminds me a little of Henry James' TURN OF THE SCREW the way it makes you wonder if even the narrator is what he seems.

Rampo's quirky humor comes out in this story as well. Both the narrator and the unseen stalker seem to be alter egos of his. This gives him an opportunity to lampoon his own stories and his image as a writer.

Both stories are intense, often lurid, and unexpectedly funny. I recommend them highly!

Most white people rarely think about racial discrimination except as something that happened "back then" "down south". We're (I write this as a white man) far more likely to whine about "reverse discrimination," about how unfair affirmative action is and how confusing PC speech has become (Are "they" black, African-Americans, people of color or *what* ?). We tend to think of black people three ways:

1) We see them as white people with extra pigmentation. We don't really notice any difference and blithely assume that they're "just like us".

2) We see them as gods and superheros, running faster, jumping higher, dancing better, and better endowed in various ways.

3) We demonize them--welfare mothers pumping out babies, gangstas, crack ho's & that junkie pulling a smash 'n' grab to feed his habit.

Rarely do we ever try to understand what it's like, growing up different. Langston Hughes, in this powerful little book, opens a window for us. Although aimed at children of all races, perhaps the people who benefit most from this work will be white "liberals" who think racism is horrible until an African-American family moves in down the block.

"Misery is when the taxi cab won't stop for your motoher and she says a bad word."

"Misery is when you first realize so many things bad have black in them, like black cats, black arts, blackball."

"Misery is when you go to the Department Store before Christmas and find out that Santa is a white man."

"Misery is when you start to help an old white lady across the street and she thinks you're trying to snatch her purse."

These, and a whole host of others, are poignantly illustrated by Arouni. The book is introduced by Jesse Jackson, who points out that some things are dated (society has evolved a bit since 1967), but that plenty of room for progress remains. Historical events, such as the presidential election of 2000, demonstrate that deep and systematic racism still pervades American life. This was the last work that Langston Hughes wrote. He died in 1967, while working on the manuscript.

Both my 13-year-old son and my 8-year-old daughter have found the book touching. Reading it with them has helped them to have a better understanding of what it might be like to be "different." I believe this book opens the way for genuine dialogue between people of different races, instead of maintaining projections and biases.

I was given this book to read in English class and I thought, "great, another boring novel." But I was blown away. It was quite possibly one of the books I've read. It had qualities of Forrest Gump as well as Saving Private Ryan. And a great metaphor of the train. I greatly suggest you read this book.

"First restrain, then blockade, finally destroy!" was the war cry of the celebrated 1920s writer and World Chess Championship aspirant Aron Nimzowitsch. Subsequently eclipsed by his classic My System, this pioneering work (The Blockade) has now been rescued and published, with a new translation, for the very first time in dual-language format (English and German). The Editor, Philip Hughes, webmaster of the Uncrowned Kings website, has delved into chess history and provided extensive appendices in order to bring the reader a better picture of chess in the 1920s and particularly 1923-4. The chess philosophy developed by Aron Nimzowitsch, the Father of Modern Chess and the godfather of Hyper-modernism, clearly instructs the chess student on many important aspects of the game. The teachings of The Blockade reflect on the chessboard the military thinking of the day, trench warfare and strangulation, as exemplified in the recently concluded First World War.

Nimzowitsch's insights remain relevant today and should be regarded as essential reading for the improving player.


The introduction to this new edition of The Blockade is written by Grandmaster Ray Keene, author of a celebrated biography of Nimzowitsch and chess correspondent of The Times, The Sunday Times, The Spectator and the International Herald Tribune.

We are fortunate that old teacher told us about this book. This book was published before American education system lowered the standard... last two times. My 5 y.o. son actually reading NEW and unknown words mostly correctly being though just 1st half of it.
In addition to the book we re-write each new word from the book 5 times, and write a sentence with it.

The Book of Rhythms is a wonderful book that teaches children how to create their own poems. It begins by teaching children how to create their own rhythm by drawing a pattern on a piece of paper. Then it goes on to describe some of the different rhythms you hear everyday, such as your own heartbeat. Hughes then teaches children how to vary their rhythms and how to put words to the rhythm the reader has created. Towards the end, the author tells you about all the different rhythms such as broken or unseen rhythms.
This book serves as a great source for teaching children how to compose their own poems. The author is very qualified to write on this subject, since he is such a renowned poet. The book is neatly organized with clear appropriate headings and helpful illustrations that allow the reader to visualize the author's point. The language is vivid and interesting, yet easy enough for even very young readers to understand and enjoy.
In conclusion, Hughes' Book of Rhythms is a great book introducing children to poetry composition. With interesting vocabulary and illustrations, it is enough to keep any reader's attention. This book serves as a great teaching tool for any elementary aged child.

Pioneering work from the authors of The Book of Us by Jan Hughes, Chuck Ketchel and Jeanne Ketchel. The authors explore psychological development from personal, collective and spiritual levels. The book narrates a journey of personal psychological development under the most challenging conditions that life has to offer; but more importantly, the authors strive to portray their rising as heroes to meet these life challenges. Documentation of the journey is guided professionally by certified psychotherapist and psychological medium Chuck and Jan respectively, and spiritually by Jeanne.

Being a family friend of the authors for over thirty-five years, I recommend this book wholeheartedly to readers seeking to share in a journal of personal and spiritual development. It provides an intimate view into the world of psychological development for the novice and initiate alike.

With commercial publication, The Book of Us has increased its circulation potential to a wider readership, in the hope that it will inspire readers to embrace the challenge of personal development and achieve new evolutionary peaks - the Eagle flies!

Donald McQuillen - Switzerland, 2008

The Book of Us