Long Books

I can't say enough about Chapter 4 in this book, entitled, "The Best Sewing Techniques." I have already used this chapter to make a blouse. The author's instructions are SUPERIOR to those of pattern manufacturers. I've never taken a class on shirts/blouses and have always relied on the instructions included in a pattern. Not this time around! I used the author's detailed and very easy to understand instructions along with the beautifully detailed colored photos to construct a blouse just this week. The biggest difference in this shirt and others I've made is definitely the collar and facing. Makes you wonder why pattern companys don't let you in on these VERY EASY changes we can all make to make our blouses look tailored instead of homemade.

Currently my favorite sewing book. Make that my favorite book. It's very useful for sewing shirts as well as blouses. The most useful chapter is no.4, The Best Sewing Techniques. As opposed to Mr. Coffin's illustrations, (another excellent book) this one has very clear color photographs of each technique and it's various steps. Her techniques appear to come from the within the industry and should be part of any serious sewer's arsenal. The instructions are some of the clearest I've come across. Don't sew another yoked shirt/blouse until you've looked at the technique shown here. Ms. Long's work, shown as examples, is absolutely flawless. The beauty is in the crisp execution of details such as welt pockets and plackets. This book inspires me to improve and perfect my sewing skills towards that of Connie Long's.

This book is very good but in my opinion it is not a reference book on blouses. I would recommend that someone read first a good book on shirts such as "Shirtmaking" by D.P. Coffin and then use this book to add details found usually in women's shirts and blouses.

The first three chapters are about choosing the right pattern and style, selecting fabrics and notions and fitting the pattern. Chapter 4 is focusing, among others, on: * Neckline Finishes (shaped facings, faced facings, bias facings and knit ribbing) * Sewing Collars (collars without a back facing, knitted collar, collars with a stand) * Sewing a Yoked Blouse (standard shirt yoke, blouse-type yoke which is worn mostly by women) * Sewing the Sleeves (flat-sleeve construction, round-sleeve construction) * Plackets (Continuous-lap sleeve placket, simplified sleeve opening) * Cuffs (standard cuff, no-cuff cuff) * Machine-Stitched Hems (turned and stitched hems, rolled hems) * Closures (hidden closure, buttonhole placement and size, sewing the buttons, gooks and eyes)

The instructions are clear and detailed, accompanied by many photographs and really helpful tips that I believe make this a very good book on blouses even for a beginner sewer. I sewed myself a blouse with a blouse-type yoke and used the technique for faced facings (the latter technique eliminates the need to finish the facings edge with a serger) and the bias-tricot bound seam to bind and finish the armhole. The results were very professional and my blouse looks as beautiful on the outside as on the inside! I highly recommend this book to any sewer!

In 15 years of amateur home sewing, I've always avoided blouses because I could never make them look good. I'm looking forward to trying the techniques in this book. They seem to address exactly the problems I've always had.

I GREW UP IN THE VIETNAM ERA AND NEVER THOUGHT IT NECESSARY TO READ A BOOK ABOUT THE VIETNAM CONFLICT BECAUSE I THOUGHT I HAD A CLEAR PICTURE OF THE VIETNAM EXPERIENCE.THROUGH THE EYES OF A SCOUT PILOT I WAS GIVEN A FASCINATING NEW PERSPECTIVE!

Tom Smith's Easy Target is the best book of helicopter memoirs that I have read thus far. Finding direction in life by becoming a helicopter scout pilot in Vietnam, his story takes many interesting and often scary turns. I especially appreciated his description of the manoeuvres and skills aquired as his experience grew. This book played a major part in my decision to get my own pilot's license and begin a career in the civilian market.

Tom Smith tells of his personal participation as a Scout Pilot. To those of us who flew in Vietnam, myself a Marine Corps, CH-46 Crew Chief, it is an absolutely true narrative of what was happening at the time. I did not find the book overbearing or boring and found it to be a good read. Some vietnam tales tend to be full of heavy head trips. Not so with this one. Congratulations. Joe Jacobs (jjacob2@ibm.net)Lima, Peru

As you ride with Tom in his OH-6, skimming trees, darting over the elephant grass and around the termite mounds of western III Corps, you will "feel" all the emotions of war, especially, fear. "Easy Target" is a great story of a very young man who spends a life changing year of tempting fate, learning "tricks of the trade", and experiencing what "luck" really means. In the end he truly realizes that being "cool" is very serious business. Tom Payne RVN 66-67, Bandit32

I found a first edition of this book at a thrift store and have really enjoyed it. I'm happy to see that it's still in print!

It's a book about adventure that will keep you reading as well as an interesting view of rural mexico in the 1930s.

I've been trying to find more about Dana and Ginger Lamb. I would like to know more of their experience and backgrounds before attempting this expedition as young recent college graduates in 1933.
The adventures they experience as they canoe the coast of Mexico, Baja, and Central America from San Diego to Panama are truly absorbing. For three years, they manage to survive malaria, apparent snake bite, insects, tiger and wild boar attack, getting lost in caves, storms at sea in their canoe, attack by primitive tribes, etc.. All this as they "live off the land" without much more than a gun, tent, minimal medical supplies, very little money, and their wits.
For two adventurers that should have a great deal of wilderness survival knowledge and experience, they rather stupidly, get themselves into many dangerous situations that beg the question "why would they do that?" I have to say I believe many of their adventures are exaggerated. I am also curious about the historical and archeological significance of the ancient cities and pyramids they discover in the "Forbidden Land".
All this said, if only half true, their story is incredibly interesting, more so because the wilderness and primitive cultures they experience occur in relatively recent times,1932-1935, and in areas of Mexico and Central America that today are main stream tourist destinations.

I love true to life adventure/survival tales. This book, Enchanted Vagabonds, is a classic in every sense: it is novel, well written and inspiring. A young couple dreams an adventure, takes the adventure and realizes that you do not take a trip, it takes you.

If you love true life survival/adventure stories you will love this well told tale about sailing/paddling a 16 foot craft down the Pacific side of the Americas in the 1930's.

Dana & Ginger are emeritus of the Los Angeles Adverturers Club. You'll be burning the midnight oil without being aware of time itself. Any Tristan Jones fans will love a back seat in this boat. Also, be sure to read the Lambs' companion book, "Search for the Lost City." ENJOY THE TRIP!

the exiles was a wonderfully written novel that is full of suspense and keeps the reader glued to their chair. It is a masterpiece and is well worth reading. You really do feel like you are there with the convicts.

I have 10 hard back volumes of the Australian series, all written under William Stuart Long, all very well written and well worth the long wait to obtain your full series collection. I believe there are two more one being the Nationals which I would love to be able to locate.All are based on factual historical events making the fictional characters appear as real people in history.Apart from the history the story is very entertaining,making it hard to put the book down.

This book takes you back to the late 1700's to England where criminals, justly and unjustly accused, were transported under ghastly conditions to Australia to begin a new colony. When reading this book, you really feel as if you were there right along with the exiled prisoners. Although the book is fiction, it is based on events that actually happened, and I feel I now understand a bit more about this period in Australia's history. I enjoyed it and look forward to reading the rest of the series.

This series should be used as a teaching guide. It gives a remarkable insight into the reality of a new colony built on hatred and fear. What our ancestors endured was without doubt incredible. The corruption and politics unequalled. The insensitivity of the British Admiralty and the cruelty of the English Government against the Irish and their own people was horrific. Vivian Stuart's research and insight into the personalities of our founding fathers & early colonists is brilliant. This historical record has been written with passion and understanding. I advise every Australian and those interested in history to read this account. It is also a tribute to William Bligh, who should be vindicated in history as he was not only a great mariner but a fine leader. Read it.

I became aware of this book through an article Hemingway wrote about books he would like to read twice. Well I can say that this book is best read in the winter, for it will melt the snow in puddles around your shoe, and warm your heart and soul at the same time. So make haste and buy it now, while the cold winds still blow.

The Argentine pampas was a land of freedom and excitement: one literary figurehead W.H. Hudson describes in his memoir FAR AWAY & LONG AGO: A CHILDHOOD IN ARGENTINA. Descriptions of natural history and wildlife abound - and also of politics and interpersonal relationships of the times. You'd think FAR AWAY & LONG AGO would give insights into Hudson's childhood and life - and it does - but more importantly it recreates the history, culture and geography of Argentina in a way few travel books accomplish.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

As we continue to pave over the beauties of our world and turn them into concrete wastelands, it is good to think back what life was like 150 years ago before we began the process of destruction in earnest.

W. H. Hudson, the naturalist, is revered in Argentina, where they refer to him as Guillermo Enrique Hudson and name streets and towns after him. In simple and stately prose, he writes about his boyhood as one of several sons in an English family that ran an estancia on the Pampas. Despite several failed attempts to school him, he managed to pick up one of the best educations available: by using his eyes and ears to study nature. His skill in language, which is considerable, came from reading his father's books on his own.

Whether writing about ombu trees, plovers, snakes, lightning storms, rheas (Argentinian ostriches), or his neighboring ranchers, Hudson brought a whole world to life with this book.

Hudson published FAR AWAY AND LONG AGO in 1917 while he was living in England -- around the same time that a Frenchman named Marcel Proust was following where that elusive taste of madeleines led him in REMEMBRANCE OF THINGS PAST, and around the same time that World War I was destroying a whole way of life. As he writes in the book:

"It is difficult, impossible I am told, for any one to recall his boyhood exactly as it was. It could not have been what it seems to the adult mind, since we cannot escape from what we are, however great our detachment may be; and in going back we must take our present selves with us: the mind has taken a different colour, and this is thrown back upon our past. The poet has reversed the order of things when he tells us that we come trailing clouds of glory, which melt away and are lost as we proceed on our journey. The truth is that unless we belong to the order of those who crystallize or lose their souls on their passage, the clouds gather about us as we proceed, and as cloud-compellers we travel on to the very end."

FAR AWAY AND LONG AGO is perhaps one of the greatest autobiographies ever written. Although I finished reading it several days ago, I am still feeling its afterglow and get this itch to re-read passages from it. This is, indeed, a book that will withstand several readings.

I could never make it through Hudson's fantasy __Green Mansions__, but __Far Away and Long Ago__ is another book altogether. Written when Hudson was approaching eighty, more than forty years after he had left Argentina for good, it's filled with the kind of longing you might expect. And even though he's a witness to the mid-nineteenth civil wars in Argentina or, more incredibly still, listens to travelers reciting poems by the eighteenth-century Spaniard Menéndez Valdés, Hudson seems modern; he makes other times, other places, far away and long ago, as he calls them, seem incredibly near.

Hudson's excellent short story "El Ombú" is also well worth seeking out. And, finally, while it's true Hudson left Argentina for England, the US also has some claim to him; it was from New England, after all, that, shortly before his birth, his American family left for Argentina. Just thought I'd make that clear, since people are always calling him "Anglo-Argentine".

Barbera Brooks has also created an online flower wire service to send flowers all around the world. She has over 500 florists. I have sent succesfully flowers to London, Colorado, Wyoming, New York, Washington DC, Massachusetts, California, and other places.

wow, this book is so great. I'm also very excited because Barbara is now running a high end flower wire service called B Brooks Fine Flowers, simple and easy and my mom REALLY loved her flowers I sent for her for Mothers day. www.bbrooks.com

As a connoisseur of flowers, this book is an invaluable source. It has made gift giving easy. People call me and rave about the flowers I send.

I used the first edition of this book for many years. I found her comments to be accurate and her recommendations to beat FTD by miles. I have used this book to send flowers all over the US. Each and every time I use someone she recommends I get a call back asking,"How did you find such a beautiful florist?". I am looking for the updated editon, as some of the people she knew in 1989 have gone out of business. I am looking forward to an expanded and updated list, as I'm betting that many more cities are covered.

Greg Borowski is truly one of America's great young writers. After reading "First and Long," I felt I had been in the locker room and on the practice field all season long. It's a fascinating and poignant account of two Milwaukee schools close in proximity but worlds apart as players and coaches struggle and grow and struggle some more. Borowski has an amazing eye for detail and a gift for sharing it with the reader. "First and Long" is a terrific story for anyone who loves Friday Night football or who wants insights into American cities today. Can't wait for his next book.

Featuring a Foreword by Vince Lombardi Jr., First And Long: A Black School, A White School And Their Season Of Dreams by Greg Borowski is the inherently fascinating and superbly told story of the first year of the combined Messmer High School/Shorewood High School football team. These two southern Wisconsin schools were almost exact opposites of each other with one being black, private and urban, while the other was white, public, and suburban. First And Long is a story about football, but even more, it is the story of contemporary life and the modern issues of cultural adjustment, racial harmony, and the ideals and idealism of youth as mentored by their imaginative and persevering mentors. Unique and highly recommended reading for sports enthusiasts in general, and Wisconsin highschool football fans in particular!

I really enjoyed First and Long, even though I have to say I am not a sports fan. The author is known for his attention to detail, his ability to put a story in context, and his engaging style. All of these really come through in his account of a landmark season for the country's first high school football team formed from a partnership of a central-city Catholic and a suburban public school. Although the two schools are located merely 2 miles from each other, the author shows us how far apart the schools really in so many other ways.

Clearly, countless hours of interviews and observation went into this book. The players really come to life in its pages -- First and Long allowed me to get to know them, and the coaches as well. The glimpses of their lives off the field were every bit as intriguing as the accounts of their work on the field. Intriguing because they didn't fit squarely into one's expectations formed from Hollywood stories of underdog teams facing adversity. This team displayed a different kind of courage, and by the end of the season I wanted to continue following the players beyond the book's final page.

This book reminded me a good deal of "My Losing Season" by Pat Conroy (a excellent look at the author's challenging season playing basketball for The Citadel). I heartily recommend First and Long.

"First and Long" is a must-read for everyone who loves high school football. Greg Borowski gets as close to the gridiron as George Plimpton did. But his story tells so much more: How boys not only from different schools but from such disparate backgrounds forged a team and refused to fail against seemingly insurmountable odds. What's more, this is a story told with a perceptive eye and exquisite detail. See if it doesn't inspire you, too.

Dr Lawson really brings home the hope and excitement of these doctrines of grace truly opening up God's love letter to us-The Bible,In such marvelous way and in such simplicity as well so everyone can see the beauty of God's Sovereignty thoughout the Bible,Fantastic Job on this volume and looking forward to the other titles in this series

Steven Lawson is the senior pastor of Christ Fellowship Baptist Church in Mobile, Ala., and is widely known for his vibrant expository preaching.

This is the first volume in a planned series of five that will chronologically survey 3,500 years of men who believed in and upheld the doctrines of grace. This volume moves through the pages of Scripture and displays more than 40 biblical authors who delighted in the doctrines of grace and God's sovereignty in salvation. Volumes two through five will take their biographical studies from the pages of church history in the following manner:
Volume 2: Pillars of Grace (2nd - 16th centuries)

Volume 3: Forces of Grace (16th - 17th centuries)

Volume 4: Progress of Grace (17th - 19th centuries)

Volume 5: Triumph of Grace (19th century - present)

An excellent 13-page foreword by John MacArthur opened the book with "Divine Immutability and the Doctrines of Grace." He answers the question of "Why did God determine to elect the redeemed?" by showing the inter-Trinitarian relationship of love and promise and glory. I am glad to see this teaching in print because my audio tapes of MacArthur's sermons on these texts (Titus 1:1-2, 2 Timothy 1:9) wore thin from listening to them so much. I think that this Trinity-in-eternity understanding of the "promise of redemption" did more to help establish the beauty of sovereign grace in my mind than any other dimension of the doctrine.

Right from the beginning, Lawson establishes his belief that true revival comes to the church when biblical theology and doxology ignite the church in a flame of passion for the glory of God. He says, "Over the centuries, seasons of reformation and revival in the church have come when the sovereign grace of God has been openly proclaimed and clearly taught. When a high view of God has been infused into the hearts and minds of God's people, the church has sat on the elevated plateaus of transcendent truth."

You have to love an author that really believes in the power of God's truth to change lives, and who writes with the passion coming out of such a conviction. Lawson says,

"Never has the need been greater for the truths of sovereign grace to be firmly established in the church. ... Let us now embark on this God-exalting, Christ-honoring pursuit. Ultimately, our view of God is at stake. It will affect everything. May we elevate Him in our hearts to the highest place, which belongs exclusively to Him. To God alone be the glory forever and ever. Amen."

An additional strength of the book is his ability to provide a succinct historical context for the life and book of each author. Job, Hosea, Moses, John, Peter, Jesus, etc. - they each are set in their historical context. This has the effect of drilling home the truth that the "doctrines of grace" are not a product of Calvin or Augustine or Spurgeon, but instead are divine truth as known and taught throughout all of God's dealings with mankind. To know God in truth is to have a high view of God's sovereignty.

Lawson writes, "This survey from cover to cover in the Bible will lay an immovable foundation for the sovereign grace of God."

Indeed, that is exactly what this book accomplishes. I look forward with great anticipation to the publication of each of the volumes in this series.

Steven J. Lawson has begun a project that only be called ambitious. Through a series of five volumes, he has set out to trace the long line of godly men who have taught the foundational truths of God's sovereign grace. He will begin with the Bible itself and the godly men found there and history these individuals throughout history to the present. Lawson begins with this book, Foundations of Grace, which spans the years 1400BC - 100 AD.

Never before to my knowledge has such work been attempted. With such am ambitious goal, my expectations for this book were high. But Lawson did not disappoint.

Lawson begins in chapter 1 - "A Long Line of Godly Men" - with something of an overview of the book. Lawson talks about the foundations of the reformed theology finding root in the Bible itself, and shows briefly how those truths were brought into sharp focus in the reformation, spread throughout Europe, crossed the Atlantic to the Americas and continue to be cherished today. He also traces what these central themes of the reformed faith are - the sovereignty of God in life and salvation, the primacy of the glory of God, man's depravity and need of God's sovereign grace, and the doctrines of grace as a lens to see God's saving work accomplished and applied.

From there in chapters 2-8, Lawson begins with Moses and takes the reader through to the very end of the Old Testament with the Minor Prophets, demonstrating the continuing teaching and belief of these same truths about God, his sovereign grace, and man's need of them.

In many ways, the apex of the book comes in the controversially titled chapter "Christ, the Calvinist" (chapter 9). Here and in the next chapter Lawson demonstrates from the gospels that teachings of reformed theology have their root in Jesus himself. Just as the foundation was laid in the Old Testament, so Jesus - the Word incarnate - picks up those same themes and makes them essential to his ministry and teaching. Like George Whitefield, whom he quotes, one can say, "I embrace the Calvinistic scheme, not because of Calvin, but Jesus taught it to me" (pg. 240).

After this, Lawson moves through the rest of the New Testament in chapters 11-18. Beginning with Peter and the book of Acts, Lawson continues to convincingly show that the emphasis and understanding of the reformed faith (i.e., Calvinism) is not something imposed on the Bible, but naturally rises out from it. He demonstrates the fundamental coherence to the Bible's teaching on these issues.

One of the greatest strengths of Foundations is Lawson's writing style. Lawson is a more than capable pastor and it shows in this book. His writing is far from dry, but exhibits a style that is passionate and engaging. This shouldn't be surprising since the original idea and study for this material came from Lawson's Men's discipleship class at his church. (I have to say when I found that out, I struggled with envy over the great blessing those men have in Lawson!)

Another great strength is the book's organization. Each chapter is subdivided into the specific theological themes that Lawson traces out. Themes include things like sovereign grace, definite atonement, choosing and election, etc. This makes the book more coherent (and readable) than if he simply moved from chapter to chapter, book to book, pointing out every verse that spoke to every emphasis in reformed theology.

A final strength is the books the vast mine of material Lawson gives. This book is not only an exceptional work of exposition and biblical theology, it is also a storehouse for quotes and insights from other historic believers. Peppered throughout is something of a preview of Lawson's other forthcoming volumes, as he quotes and references others who in more recent centuries held this faith, once for delivered to the saints.

Few things can be more encouraging than to see the consistency of men and women believing the very truths you hold dear in your life. When I read the Bible or works like Foxe's Book of Martyrs and see God's people holding so dear the truths God has revealed - even to the point of suffering and death - it only serves to make those truths more cherished in my life, and encourage me to love more deeply the God who gave them.

Today, there is a slipping away from the theological truths of Zion. Doctrine is becoming of lesser importance than relevance and excitement. Though the reality is, theology that is truly believed will always be relevant and generate excitement, many want the latter without the former. Relationships and belonging have become more important than believing in some cases. This does not bode well for Christianity. Today more than ever we need a renewing of our understanding of who God is. That understanding should come from our own thoughts or the culture's popular ideas, but from what God himself tells us in his Word.

In light of these things, Lawson's work shines like a light in the growing darkness. Here is a tracing of the some of the most important truths about who God is from God's own Word. If we heed Lawson's teaching from the Bible, we will catch a better glimpse of the glory of God, causing us to more deeply love him and give him the worshipful service of our lives.

Stephen Lawson corresponds in this sizable book with the Christian who has a thirst for the grace of God. In all its magnificence, the men of faith who grace the Bible of God, is played out before us from the theocentric view of God.

Beginning with Moses the lawgiver, Lawson delves into their lives as represented to us in the Word. Drawing out texts, Lawson reveals the 'ability of God' (grace) in their lives as sovereign, thereby resulting in what God determines. The aspect of our understanding that most lacks fruitfulness in this regard, is our limited view of time and life.

God purposes and determines all man's ways. Illustrated time and again, Lawson beautifully resonates the heavenly directive will of God, brought to bear in the lives of the men of faith, linking generations of godly leadership.

'Regeneration is open-heart surgery, a soul-reviving work of the Spirit that probes to the deepest level of a person's being.' pg 97

'Despite Israel's unfaithfulness God continued to call forth a chosen remnant from within the nation to be His elect people.' pg 95

Yes, the doctrines of grace are expounded in true Calvinistic form, for therein the glory of God is brought to bear most beautifully. Lawson makes easy and light reading of a difficult topic, and reduces our intellect to that which it rightfully is: only enlightened once grace has entered our sinful lives.

A beautiful and God-glorying, soul-gratifying work which seeks to inform today's generation of biblical Christians of old truths.

Dawn Nelson's authentic teaching and in-depth expertise result from touching and healing hundreds of patients. Her special blend of personal experience and professional mastery makes this book a must read for practitioners and caregivers. Stephan Betz, Certified Group Psychotherapist

This beautiful book captures the soul of touch. In my work as a massage therapist with hospice and elderly patients, I return to it again and again. It's the book I show others who may be interested. But more than this; it deepens my practice with all clients; and in its resonance with
the very best of me, enriches all my relationships.

This is a simply amazing book. It is wise and very inspiring. The main message I took away was that you don't have to be a licensed CMT to give healing through the touch: just connect with the person to whom you are giving touch, and keep your heart open. It addresses the ever increasing elderly population's needs for touch, and offers real solutions for healing and service. I felt like I imbibed Ms. Nelson's many years of spiritual practice through the pages, and as a result felt healed by proxy. I am more confident in my skills as a healer as a result of this book ( I am a yoga teacher). I will apply what I have learned about touching with presence and openness to my work as well as my life. Plus, my husband is really loving the benefits of my reading this book already, as I practice on him. Thanks to the author. A much-needed book.

Dawn Nelson is not only a dedicated, loving care provider, teacher, and founder of COMPASSIONATE TOUCH®, but also an excellent writer. Her books and teaching affirm my own experience as a hospice massage therapist by emphasizing the "care" in caregiving. She encourages us to allow our hearts to open and be really present with the people we touch. By involving the heart in our work, we can make deeper connections and see beyond the person's illness or disability. I have learned so much from Dawn's writings and teaching. This book will inform, but more importantly, it will inspire.

I bought this book to learn how to use TOUCH in the appropriate way for the elderly/sick. Though it spends some time doing that, the majority of the book--which is large--focuses mostly on emotional and caring issues instead. I must say that I found this information comforting, informative and heartwarming. It reiterates things we know, but focuses more on the "heart" and caring for a person. It reminds us how important it is to spend time with an individual. "Individual" is defined as the person's essence so that we focus on the real person instead of on their physical disabilities. Though this wasn't why I bought the book, it enhanced a lot of things for me.

Literally the second I finished this book I thought to myself, "This would make a great movie!" I've never thought like that before. Come to find out this book was written by an entertainment lawyer so that may have just been what he had in mind. This is not an orthodox whodunit. The main character is not your typical leading man in any way. But he is really fun and interesting. I found all of the characters and the story itself to be unique and intriquing. The only issue I had at first was some of the British wording and the spellings of certain words are slightly different than we use here in the US. But don't for a second let that put you off. You can't go wrong with this one in any way. The only way you could not enjoy this book is if you are dead inside.

A great mystery for people who normally don't like mysteries. Amateur thief/writer Charles Howard is asked to steal two plaster monkeys for an acquaintance. The acquaintances dies, Howard is pegged for the murder, and goes on an invesigative hunt and thieving spree for the third monkey and the real killer. It's eloquent like a good '50s movie. Laughs throughout.

Charles Howard is the successful author of a suspense series starring a suave courageous cat burglar detective, Faulks. However, fiction imitates real life as Charles supplements his income and creative juices by being a successful burglar just like his Faulks is.

Howard is currently completing his latest Faulks thriller in Amsterdam when on his web site he receives an enigmatic summons that peaks his interest. He meets with an American who knows the truth about Howard's moonlighting extravaganza; the American offers him 20,000 Euros to steal two monkey figurines. Reluctantly, as he wonders how his client knows the truth about his nocturnal activities, he carries out the assignment. However, when he returns to deliver the items, he finds his client almost dead from a vicious assault and the matching third figurine missing. As the Dutch police investigate the beating with Howard as a suspect, he makes inquiries that link back to a diamond robbery over ten years ago while his London based editor suggests plot changes, not realizing her recommendations might be tested in real life not a novel.

THE GOOD THIEF'S GUIDE TO AMSTERDAM is a humorous crime caper that pays homage to the classic To Catch a Thief, but does so in a lighthearted satirical tongue in cheek way. Charles is a unique impish rogue who finds himself in a dangerous encounter with a killer. The subplot involving his editor is creative and amusing as she offers advice to make his latest story line seem plausible and genuine, but not understanding that the escapade is real. Readers will enjoy this fine look at Amsterdam through the eyes of a cat burglarizing author struggling to keep his nine lives in tact.

Harriet Klausner

Diamonds, who has them and who wants to get hold of them, is central to this exciting debut novel by Chris Ewan, their origin fundamental to the dilemma that faces Charlie Howard, a mystery writer and part-time thief who is currently living in Amsterdam in the hope that the city will inspire him to sort out some of the plot problems that plague his current story.

Charlie is surely not your average thief. A man who despises guns and violence, Charlie has only taken to thieving so that he can earn that little bit of extra cash on the side, despite being a little tentative of the risks involved. Cautious by nature, Charlie is hesitant to take chances, even when a shady American contacts him via his web site, asking to meet him at a well-known café in central Amsterdam.

Charlie has no idea who the American is and has far less reason to trust him, but the lure of a new job is something that he's long since given up trying to fight. When the American hands Charlie, a plaster of Paris figurine of a monkey, and asks him to steal two more, one that covers his ears, and the other covering his mouth, Charlie is at first uncertain on whether or not to take him up on the offer.

All things considered, it is hard to imagine that the figurines are worth more than a handful of pounds or euros, but the American is determined that Charlie should be the one to do the job as both are in private dwellings, one in a houseboat, the other in an apartment, and therefore both will be relatively easy to steal. After initially saying no, Charlie decides that he can't really resist the challenge, especially as the American, Michael Park has guaranteed that no one will be home in the respective residences. T

The houseboat burglary goes well, but Charlie is unceremoniously interrupted when he's in the apartment just as he's holding the second precious monkey figurine in his hands. Forced to hide in the attic, while the intruder slashes all of the furniture, little does Charlie know, however, that this particular adventure into the world of petty thievery is going to become a lot more complicated than he first thought.

Figurines in hand, he arrives back at the Café only to be told by the blonde bartender Marieke that Michael Park has disappeared, taken by two men, one thin and one large. Charlie notices that Marieke's movements are rushed and she looks anxious and when he then shows her the figurine, her blue eyes surprisingly transfixed by the object. His suspicions are even further aroused when Park turns up beaten to death, perhaps an unsuspecting victim of a botched robbery.

Charlie has never played this game before and when he finds himself the chief suspect in Park's murder, he finds himself caught up in a cat and mouse game as he tries to thwart the lead Dutch police officer Inspector Burggrave, who has taken a severe disliking to him. Charlie's dilemma is further complicated by the arrival of two masked henchmen who are determined to get their hands on the precious figurines.

Of course, everyone is corrupt or ruined in Ewan's Amsterdam, the motive for Park's murder appearing to be illusive at best. But much needed help arrives in the form of overweight Englishman Henry Rutherford who arrives on the scene from the British Embassy and is determined to unlock the mystery of Park's past life. Holding on to the key pieces of evidence, the figurines, Rutherford appears as the affable and loyal lawyer, who helps Charlie unlock a dark secret involving a botched diamond robbery at a Dutch trading company called Van Zandt's where apparently Park once worked as a security guard and where he ultimately stole a fortune in prized stones.

It's not entirely surprising that The Good Thief's Guide to Amsterdam actually does read like a tour guide to this famous city, with Ewan evoking the chilly atmosphere, including the red light distracts, with the dance music pulsing out from the sex booths, the grandness of Central Station and the Damrak and bleak expanses of the eastern dock areas. All is a perfect fit for murder, thievery and double crossing treachery as Charlie, a burglar who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, races against the clock to figure out the secret of the set of figurines and who was really responsible for Park's death. Mike Leonard December 2007.