Owens Books

Owens extensive research is always apparent in this work. A wonderful read. Provides great insight to Bierce's life as a solider. Is a great source of new lines of thinking regarding Bierce's work. Highly recommend to anyone interested in the Civil War or Ambrose Bierce.

The Devil's Topographer: Ambrose Bierce And The American War Story tells one who was billed 'the first writer of fiction ever to treat war realistically'. This realism came from Bierce's experiences as a Union soldier in the Civil War, where he moved from soldier to cartographer and saw major battles of the war. Any interested in Bierce's background must have The Devil's Topographer: it outlines an important part of his life and sets over twenty of his war stories chronologically according to the story's action.

No actual series of words can convey the excellence of the scholarship Father Owens' work magisterially sets forth. It is a detached, objective, and eminently instructive account of one of the most difficult and profund works written in the West. It is worth every moment of persual that the book requires of the reader in order that he begin to come to grips with one of the greatest thinkers of our era. I cannot recommend highly enough Father Owens' monumental acheivement, "The Doctrine of Being in the Aristotleian Metaphysics".

This is a classic of Aristotelian secondaries. Owens' (not to be confused with G.E.L. Owen) account of pros hen equivocity and the "as structure" of the science of Being (metaphysics) is a major contribution to Aristotle scholarship and is more than likely the source for G.E.L. Owen's notion of "focal meaning". This is a thematic account of Aristotle's Metaphysics focusing on the role of equivocals. However, Owens does provide pretty close readings of most of the books. He has extensive notes on the other major secondaries (obviously, written prior to 1978) and a bibliography of 608 entries. This is one of the most comprehensive, influential, and refreshingly readable accounts of one of Aristotle's most difficult texts.

Stunning little book, essentially the legend of the magical American Indian Dream Catcher. Beautiful illustrations & clear text assure all readers of the intriguing powers of dream catchers. The classic legend of the dream catcher plays throughout these colorful pages transporting the reader into peace-filled realms.
I've seen this book work wonders for children who are troubled by scary dreams. The fine illustrations assure the appreciator that dream catchers really do work and can protect the dreams of the night (& day!) It's about time that a fine little inexpensive book like this is available! How fresh & lovely!!!

This is a beautifully told & beautifully illustrated legend of the American Indian (Cherokee) dream catcher, which is a special amulet for blessing one's dreams. The dreaming mind conjures up countless fantasies & the dream catcher can help to sort & sift through them & protect the dreamer from nightmares & daymares. Lovely work!
Lovely team!
Such a nice job!
I hope we'll see more from these talented artists!

If you are in the egg business, want to know about the egg business or are doing scientific work that involves eggs. This is the authoritatize guide.

This is the book for those involved with the egg business. The authors use a clear an easy language whithout losing the aim of a good value technical and scientific information. It's a good and quick reference for those in production, processing and industry of egg products as well for the consumers of such products. I've been using this book by a long time (back editions) and it never left my desktop, as a good refecence in day by day uses. A good choice for the beggniners at the egg processing. Julio C.Baldim Brasil

This is a fabulous book for children interested in animals. It is very detailed and has beautiful photos. Our young child refers to it as "The Great Big Book of Everything," as in the Disney Channel's "Stanley" cartoon. It really does seem to have everything inside.

At first I was hesitant to order this book, with no picture of the cover on Amazon and no review to judge the book I took a chance and I am very glad I did. I bought this book as a bargain book, price-wise and content-wise I couldn't have made a better choice. I am very impressed and for me it has turned out to be a great buy since my kids love learning about animals.
This book is HUGE and heavy ,almost ten pounds! It concentrates on the four major groups: Mammals,birds,reptiles and amphibians. In-depth and comprehensive text with superb photographs and illustrations. Very good research material.

I use this book frequently, because I always find what I want and it's good. The authors state their facts accurately and clearly. Top notch.

This book has been a lifesaver for me many times when I needed authoritative information in a hurry. If you are a teacher of astronomy--at any level from undergrad on up--you will never regret having this on your shelf! Many times, after searching in vain through half-a-dozen textbooks for some item of information, I have turned to Facts-on-File Astronomy and found the answer directly, without further ado. I believe this is a "must" for every serious teacher, student, or researcher in Astronomy and Astrophysics.

Five Books of Marriage is a sincere offering of true feelings. It is personal. Currently in the final days of legally ending my own marriage of almost two decades, it stirs anger and regret. But there were smiles when I remembered my life as it was in "Fathoms". Harry Owen crafts a moving collection of poetry in which he's willing to open up his own life to give us an honest look at happiness, love, complaisance, disappointment and redemption.

I thoroughly enjoyed this moving and intelligent collection. It was well written and results in poetry you can almost touch, or at the very least touches you. Five Books of Marriage moves from being the song you put on when feeling melancholy, to the one you put on when the warmth returns.


Novelist, Ray Melnik

Almost enough to make you want to peel your heart again, open it up and toss it up to the bright sky and risk flame. Harry Owen puts the heart to poetry, peels it raw, exposes its hard pit, crushes it into dust, then from dust forms man again. These are his five books of marriage, and it is a marriage of one and one, two others, but also one and one, self to self.

There's that first, hot blush:

a tongue roving her moist-lubed helix
to a sudden hot
seizure, a two-stroked scream, a poem

where all metaphor dies.

There's that hitting of a flat place, when water goes flat as foil, and when a marriage grows inexplicably cool, even while one is left wondering at the loss and what could possibly come after:

But restored to the depths, will he dream of
the suns he has seen? Will he scavenge the dark silt
lusting for that terror of dazzling truth...

And will he live?

He does. And how. As raw and brave and as primal as ever, in memories alongside a rites of passage into new, traveling back and forth, because we all know time in love is never linear:

We shall rise, you and I, like a gloom
and feast.

And she? Is:

too old a habit to wear again,
too clamped a future to recollect,
too filled with emptiness to cry.

So one moves forward, because there really is no choice in the matter. Decision Time:

In the end it isn't hard -

you face the wall,
reach the bottom of the sand-slope,
stand at the water's edge.

Think about it, write it down:

Yes or no?

Begin.


And so Book 5 is that new beginning, some poems of which are a reoccurence of those that appeared at the very beginning... Gen and also Levis, Owen's sensuality coming to life again, hope alive again, as beautiful, no, more beautiful still for all its imperfection:

...It's obverse,
negative, inside-out, this happiness,
not borrowed but felt, owned:
your plain reflection in clear glass,
every scar, every blemish

and it is good.

Owen is more than good. As I remarked when I first came across his work: achingly good. He has all the marks of a grand poet, and is one. His love of language is slick and fine and wonderful: alliteration, play, fresh metaphor, the stunning a-ha moment, the twist and surprise, the absolute courage of the true artist to go naked onto the printed page. One very nearly says a prayer of thanks by book end for its blessing of rebirthed ordinary language dipped into the sauce of extraordinary. One does.

For decades now books and articles have theorized on british industrial decline (or "relative decline"). Culprits have been pointed: unions, poor management, nationalization, the education system and more. Geoffrey owen names all them but with the insight of distance he presentes a more balanced view. Failure to enter the EEC with consequent focus on the commonwealth and government mismanagement of nationalized industries and constant bail out of lame ducks drove to a loss of competitiveness on the world stage with consequent market loss. The entrance to the common market in 1973 and the thatcher reforms of the eighties forced firms to adapt and become international players on a globalized economy with the success we today now. But what makes this book stand out most is its analysis of industry by industry, ilustrated with real stories of dozens of firms, wich gives a vivid picture tha lacks so much in other texts. A good book, lucid, concise, recomended.

This excellent, thorough and generally very readable study of Britain's manufacturing industry since World War II well exceeded my expectations of it on first picking up the book at the library. This book attempts to analyse the reasons for the failures and successes of a variety of industries, and puts all the case studies in a historical context which is meticulously researched. Given the subject matter, the author could easily have opted to grind the axe for one political ideology over another, but refrains from doing so, which I found refreshing. All-in-all I came away from reading this book with a much clearer understanding of why manufacturing in Britain has fared as it has since 1945. This book is impressive, and I recommend it highly.

Volume 7 of the "Kingdom in the West: The Mormons and the American Frontier", Gold Rush Saints is an extensively researched history drawing heavily upon documents and primary sources to chronicle the role that Mormons played and the effect they had in California during the Gold Rush era. The text is scholarly in tone yet accessible to lay readers as it presents exciting stories of travel, cooperation, success, and destitution. Focusing especially upon influential and charismatic Mormon personalities, the hardships they endured and the legacies they contributed to, Gold Rush Saints is a welcome and seminal contribution to American and California history shelves.

From 1846-1857 Mormons shaped events in California: they were the first American settlers of San Francisco. Narrative history blends with documentary accounts on California Mormon history: first-person accounts of early pioneers provide new insights on gold rush history and experiences. Chapters survey social and political controversies of the time between Mormons and between Mormons and other groups, examine the roles they played in settling California and overcoming the state's isolation, and include insights from the pioneers themselves. An excellent addition to California history.

One of the joys that I have is my mail box.




There are days I open my mail and receive bills, while other days I open packages from Archie, DC, Moonstone, and Graphic Classics. This month, Tom Pomplun has compiled yet another gold standard collection.




The 2nd Edition of Mark Twain includes a delightful new adaptation of "Tom Sawyer Abroad" by Pomplun and George Sellas. I loved the story and art and thought it was a great continuation of Tom Sawyer. Tom and Huck in Egypt certainly could have got into a lot more trouble, but the going home to the States for a corn cob pipe is hilarious!




As the notes in the back state about "The Mysterious Stranger", it certainly exhibits the cynical edge of Twain during his later years. Compelling, yet, it draws on the tenants of atheism and could be used by theological cynics today.




Other stories in the volume include "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County", "A Dog's Tale", "Is He Living or Is He Dead?", and two clever advice shorts to girls. As a father of two daughters, I wish I had the wisdom and wit Twain had about him. However, smoking is something I don't have any problems with! Just don't book me any comet vacations in the near future either.




Thank you for an introduction to the diverse work of Mark Twain. This is one of your strongest volumes to date.




Check out www.graphicclassics.com for more information on this great line of books.




Tim Lasiuta

Mark Twain is undoubtedly America's "Great Man of Letters." A complicated author, he flowed easily through humor, satire, psychological horror, politics, religion, and pretty much any other subject imaginable. He was able to hold up a dark mirror to society, and stare unflinchingly at the organizations, traditions, and political and moral decay that always threaten to drown a civilization. And he spun a great yarn.

He is a great candidate for the Graphics Classics series, offering a wealth of short stories and witticisms to inspire illustrators to create, adapt and partner with the great author to produce some original works. Even his shortest story packs a solid wallop, and the one page gems are as good as the more lengthy pieces.

This updated edition brings back some of the great yarns from the first edition, with several of the smaller pieces cleared away to make way for a grand adventure staring the irrepressible Tom Sawyer and friends.

Included in this collection are:

Tom Sawyer Abroad - By far Twain's most famous and enduring character, most of us only know him from "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" and "Huck Finn", but he actually made quite a few appearances. This is a Jules Verne inspired tale of Tom, Huck and Jim commandeering a flying machine and heading off for Africa. Illustrated by George Sellas, this adaptation captures the raucous spirit and deeper wisdom inherent in the character.

The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County - Possibly the most famous tale in the collection, it is given a straight-forward comic book style adaptation. I vaguely remembered reading this story in Elementary school, and it was a nice way to be re-introduced to it.

A Dog's Tale - Without a doubt the stand-out piece in the book, and possibly the best achievement in the entire Graphic Classics series. A stunning adaptation by Lance Tooks adds an additional element to this sad story of a devoted dog and the family with which it lives. The true power of words and pictures is put on display in this adaptation.

Advice to Little Girls - An anthology of witticisms each with a different illustrator, revealing the dual-nature of little girls. Sugar and Spice, Naughty and Nice.

The Facts Concerning the Recent Carnival of Crime in Connecticut - Twain battles to defeat his own conscience, an intolerable bother since the day he was born. His conscience thinks it is up for the battle...

A Curious Pleasure Excursion - Another powerful adaptation, William L. Brown provides woodblock illustrations to illustrate Twain's advertisement for a luxury trip aboard the Comet Coggia!

Is He Living or is He Dead? - Simon Gane lends his old-fashioned style to a tale of artistic fame and true talent, as four painters conspire to gain wealth from poverty. The only condition is that one of their number must die in order to become famous.

The Mysterious Stranger - Adapted by Richard Geary, a regular of the Graphics Classics series, this story features three young boys who meet a mysterious stranger. The happy visitor announces himself as Satan, and proceeds to show the three boys the true nature of a happy life. Only the dead and insane are free from the world's troubles.