Robertson Books

A couple years back, not long after Garth Ennis began his revamp of the Punisher, he and artist Darick Robertson took Marvel's mature MAX label to new limits with the Fury mini-series. A spectacularly bloody and vulgar action epic, Fury was a smashingly great series that showed just what Ennis and Marvel's MAX line were capable of. Once again, Ennis takes on Marvel's grizzled, cigar chomping war hero with Fury: Peacemaker. Robertson is back as well providing the pencils, with the MAX imprint long gone to boot. That aside, Ennis manages to tell a compelling yarn that finds a pre-eye patch Fury in the middle of World War II. After becoming the lone survivor of his brigade, Fury embarks on a secret, revenge fueled mission. There's some twists and surprises (along with a few nods to the future events in the aforementioned Fury series), and Robertson and Jimmy Palmiotti provide solid artwork as usual, but the lack of the MAX label does limit Ennis' creative freedom. Despite that, he still manages to provide a great war yarn (something else Ennis has always been great at telling) featuring one of Marvel's oldest icons. All in all, whether you're a fan of Ennis or Nick Fury, Peacemaker is definitely worth checking out.

Fury: Peacemaker provides the reader a slice of Nick Fury's history that is little explored in modern Marvel Continuity- Nick's WWII experiences. The first part of the story finds him a green Sergeant who almost meets his death in the desert and follows his evolution to the eye-patched Howling Commando/future leader of Shield he becomes. This evolution is fuelled by an interesting mix of characters, circumstances, general weirdness. Of course, the author, Garth Ennis is one of my favorite authors of all time and he is best known for his odd characters and sharp witted war stories. The artist Derrick Robertson delivers solid, if not extrodinary art, well suited to the overall mood of the book. Yet, all this being said, I left the book with a few reservations.

First, Garth Ennis is a genius, but he works best when he can write whatever he pleases, speckling his work with profanity, sexual situations, and occasional blasphemy. Fury: Peacemaker was created under the Marvel Knights banner, and is definitely PG-13 at worst. Much of Ennis's usual edgeiness is lost in this translation. It's the same "uhhh" I felt watching the Punisher movie after reading the Ennis comics the movie was loosely based off. Secondly, the story does provide a bit of backstory as to how Nick started being the bad tempered, cigar smoking super assassin that would lead Shield, but the whole story line here just had me a little cold. I don't know why, honestly. Maybe it was the lack of the Howling Commandos, or the lack of Shield. Maybe it was just that the story seemed a little trite and a lot less inspired than other of Garth's work.

I think in some ways I am much more critical of Peacemaker because I am such a fan of Ennis. For someone who isn't expecting something edgy and inspired, or someone who just wants a solid, not-to-naughty WWII comic, Peacemaker would certainly provide pleasing results. But if you're a Garth fan and you're expecting something in the vein of Preacher get Fury by Ennis and Robertson Fury TPB ("Max Comics"--Cover) insteadwhich is very hardcore and lots of R rated fun!

Over the years I have read a fairly large number of these books of ghost stories and have found that the true art of writing this type of book lies in finding a proper balance for each story included. To produce a book that is informative, chilling and plausible requires not only a talent for writing and a general knowledge of the subject but also a willingness to do a lot of research. Elizabeth Huntsinger shows a good deal of talent for the first two categories but has for the most part missed the boat when it comes to research.

Much to the author's credit there are no swamp monsters, UFO stories, or old Indian legends to be found in this book. While stories like those mentioned may be interesting, they have no place in a book of ghost stories. There are also only a couple of really well worn stories here and for the most part the ghosts found in this book will be new finds for even the most faithful reader of ghost lore. Furthermore, the writing style of this author is excellent and very readable and she makes no historical mistakes that I could find.

That leaves only the lack of research to lessen the effectiveness of this book. Mrs. Huntsinger has done a good job of researching the history of the haunted site and it's ghost. The problem is that she never took the time to look for and interview people who had experienced the phenomena in question. Recent eyewitness accounts always lend an air of believability to this type of book and that kind of documentation is almost totally absent from this book. A little more digging and a few interviews would have gone a long way toward taking this from an average book to an excellent one.

Finally, the author includes directions to the haunted places that she has chronicled. This kind of feature is always helpful to anyone who might want to visit the ghosts in the Georgetown area. The directions are too vague however and when I tried to follow them to the burial place of Alice Flagg I got totally lost. These directions did get me to the general area however and after only one stop to ask for directions I found poor old Alice. Vague or not though the directions are a thoughtful addition and I would like to see more ghost books include this information. I truly appreciate the author's effort in including directions.

Last summer while on vacation in Myrtle Beach, I happened down to Georgetown County for a day on the Winyah. The scenery was breathtaking, as was this book. It was an excellent works and I especially liked being able to read history of places I have been. This book is absolutely wonderful.

This is a fine book about Otto Kretschmer, focusing on his wartime carreer and exploits. There is scant information on his shildhood and early years, but the author paints a magnificent portrait of this highly capable skipper from the moment he took command of his first U-Boat, U-23. Of course the most terrific action happened in the period June 1940 - March 1941, when Kretschmer eas commanding the famous U-99 and Robertson gives many details regarding U-Boat and antisubmarine tactics of the era, as well as the every day life of a typical U-Boat crew. U-99 had also guests onboard in some of her cruises and the anecdotes about them are good enough. Kretschmer was a fine marksman spending most of the times just a single torpedo for every ship he sent to the bottom and he was the first U-Boat skipper to attack convoys on the surface and duting the night hours-a practice that brought to him great success and the Oak Leaves and Swords to the Knight's Cross. Luck run out for Kretschmer in March 1941 when he sunk many ships during a convoy battle in North Atlantic but he was also depth charged and forced to surface by the Royal Navy destroyer "HMS Walker". There are also interesting episodes from his years in captivity as well as his late release in 1947. The only shortcoming of the book (which has the fine writing style of so many old books) was the fact that it was written in 1955, just before Kretschmer started a new carreer in the Budesmarine and so it dosen't contain any information about the next decades. Otto Kretschmer died in 1997, when he slipped on a staircase and fell, during a trip to Danube for his wedding anniversary.

Having read several other biographies of other U-boat aces, I was somewhat disappointed in the relative lack of anecdotes and the necessarily detached viewpoint of the book. (being written in the third-person) Overall, however, the book is well written and provides a very good whole-view of Kretchmer and his career, both pre-war and through the course of his somewhat brief war and much longer time in captivity. A good starting point to learn about the man, and some interesting insight into the Battle of the Atlantic, very much from a British perspective, but with quite apparent admiration for a worthy and gentlemanly adversary.

Although I'm not a big theatre fan, I do enjoy reading Robertson Davies. He is one of two writers whose work I will read even when the subject is not up my alley; so when C.S. Lewis writes about Medieval English Literature or Robertson Davies writes about the theatre, I still read them. It brings me great pleasure to experience their writers' craftsmanship and I know I will learn something. (I also know I'm going to enjoy their humor.) Happy Alchemy's subtitle reads, "On the Pleasures of Music and the Theatre", and this work present 33 Davies pieces, including "Lewis Carroll in the Theatre", "Opera for the Man Who Reads Hamlet", "Dickens and Music", "How I Write a Book", and the humorously self-depreciating "My Musical Career." Happy Alchemy shares many fine insights about humanity while also providing many historical and literary lessons for the reader. To read Davies (or Lewis) is to expand one's view of the world.

This is a delightful collection of Davies's thoughts on the theater in all its myriad forms, including opera, melodrama, tragedy, and comedy. Davies has a perfect mix of wit, erudition, and curmudgeonly attitude, and in addition to being a terrific writer, he is an ardent devotee of the stage.

This comes forth in all the pieces, and is further emphasized by excerpts from his "Theater Diary," provided by the editors, his wife and daughter. While some of the pieces are there just for amusement (e.g., a libretto Davies wrote for a children's opera), others are very thought-provoking (such as his "Opera and Humour" talk), and still others are a melding of the two extremese (for instance, his talk on "Lewis Carroll and the Theater").

Some of the pieces repeat themselves, as they are based on talks he gave and pieces he wrote throughout his life, and obviously certain comments which are redundant to the reader would no doubt have been fresh to the audience.

All in all, I recommend this book very highly, for anyone with an interest in theater, or a love of Davies. I would have liked more of his thoughts about theater and less of things like his libretto (though I did find that amusing), as it felt more like that was included to meet some page count demanded by the publisher. However, this may not have been possible given the material at hand.

Title of the book: Henry Reed's Think Tank
By: Keith Robertson
Reviewed by: P. Elayath
Period: 1

This book is an excellent book for anybody. Henry lives in Italy, but he comes to the U.S.A for the summer to live with his Aunt and Uncle. His best friend, Midge, is the same age, and she is a lot like Henry(which is how they came to be friends). When they decide to start a think tank, everyone begins to run to Henry and Midge for help. They help people only with practical problems. They get all sorts of people with mind troubling problems- from a lady who wants to get rid of the annoying geese without shooting or killing them to people with diet problems. While helping these people, they find themselves in hilarious situations. You should read this humor book to find out what happens to them.

Some parts in this book are boring, but the other parts just crack you up. One of my favorite quotes is(on page 52), "That's what my husband threatens to do. He says he is going out with a gun some morning and shoot enough geese to fill the freezer. But there are several things wrong with that. One-he doesn't have a gun and his eyesight is so poor he wouldn't hit anything anyhow. And second, the geese aren't on our place most of the time-they are next door. By the way, I'm Mrs. Walcott. Are you familiar with the roads around here?" I like this quote because it makes me laugh. She talks about her husband like he doesn't even know what a gun is. First, it sounds like he is a pretty good shooter, but when she talks about the reasons why it isn't a good thing to shoot the geese, she says it like he can't even pick a gun up.

Another of my favorite quotes is on page 58. " My meter has run out and here comes the law." I also like this quote because it foreshadows the event to come. The next couple of paragraphs explain what happens. To find out the next unbearable event, read this hilarious book, Henry Reed's Think Tank.

I really liked all the parts in this book even if some were boring. I liked all the segments because they just brought up even more funny moments. Even the tiring parts make you laugh. That's how fantastic this book is. I recommend this book to all readers.

This book, Henry Reed's THINK TANK was a good book. I read it because it was on my Accelarated Reader list. I think it was an exciting book because Henry and Midge went on tons and tons of adventures. If you read this book, you will definatly like it. I hope you choose to read this book. It's very good.

I found "Trapping the Jap" as an interesting war book, written in 1942 when Australia and New Zealand were expecting a Japanese invasion. He writes about three armies landing on the north, east and west coasts of Australia. The six books in the set are Shoot to Kill, Sniping, Guerrilla Tactics, Trapping the Jap, Lurking Death and The Scout. Sniping and Lurking Death include experiences by Ion and others in World War I. His famous book about his experiences in WWI is of course "The Desert Column".

"The Scout" is one of a set of six specialist military books in the "Australian Guerilla" series, written by Ion "Jack" Idriess over the period 1942 to 1943. He drew on his many years of Australian "bush" and First World War experience for these volumes, which were written as training manuals. They are now extremely hard to find, with the exception of "The Scout", which is a low-quality re-print by Paladin. The content is still relevant today, and includes much information not covered by more recent similar works.

Idriess wrote more than 50 books over a period of 42 years to 1969.

This book was quite good but go a bit long winded in the middle. It is the first by alan gold that I have read. The ending is really sad, I won't spoil it but It was a bit of a let down.

For anyone with a liking for conspiracy, this book is tremendous. While this is the genre of "The Jericho Files", there are plenty of issues the reader must come to terms with besides. The ending takes time to adjust to, but that is the strength of Alan Gold's writing; impresses a thin line between the world we live in and that which we could be embroiled within. The final clincher forming my opinion of this book is the (personally) comfortable perspective of Australian characters in an international setting which I've not experienced in other fiction books read so far. Challenging, but worthwhile.

The major fault is the book is too short! Great recipies, I have made several of the cookies and have been pleased with the results. Looking forward to making several more in the immediate future. Major fault, there are no illustrations/photos to indicate what the results should look like. I did buy the cookie book in this series and was also pleased with the recipies.

the lack of photos is the only reason I didn't give this 5 stars. what fun it was to make some of the recipes in this book. I was looking for a change of pace and this cookbook provided that for me.

Reviewed by Olivera Baumgartner-Jackson for Reader Views (10/07)

Whenever holidays approach, most of us realize that we could use some more little gifts and stocking stuffers for an array of friends and relatives. The "Christmas at Home" series offers a variety of tiny cookbooks that would make excellent stocking stuffers or truly nice gifts if they were included in a gift basket with one of the tempting `finished products' from within their pages.

The "Just Chocolate Cookbook" by Amy Robertson deals with a subject that is close to most of our hearts - wonderful chocolate. The book is divided into five chapters, each of them filled with delicious offerings. There is the Cookies and Bars chapter, featuring such diverse bites as German Chocolate Cookies, Chocolate Pizza Cookies, Cow Pie Cookies, Rainbow Brownies and many more. The next one is Cakes and Pies, filled with delights from Chocolate Zucchini Cupcakes and Earthquake Cake to French Silk Chocolate Pie and Chocolate Pecan Pie. That tempting chapter is followed by another fun one - Holiday Candy and Fudge. Who could say no to Homemade Turtles, Heavenly Christmas Fudge or Quick Chocolate Truffles? The party Mixes and Snacks chapter brings you such diverse treats as Muddy Buddy Party Mix, Milk Chocolate Popcorn and Mint Chocolate Chip Cheese Ball. But it is the last chapter, Christmas Morning Breakfast Foods, which turned out to be my favorite. I just have to decide how many of the wonderful breads, muffins and waffles I will be serving this year. The Chocolate Chip Orange Zucchini Bread and the Gingerbread Waffles with Hot Chocolate Sauce are a sure bet though...

The four recipes that I've tried out so far produced wonderfully tasty treats. They were easy-to-follow, but since the cookbook lacks the photos of the finished goodies, I am not sure if they looked right. For future use I would also like to have an Index of the contents included, so that I could quickly see if a particular recipe is included in the book.

The "just Chocolate Cookbook" would make for a sweet little gift for any chocolate lover out there - and that covers a great percentage of us all, doesn't it?

When a friend suggested Aurthur J Upfield's Napoleon Bonapart mystery series written in the 40's & 50's I thought naaa. But she pressed and I found a delightful Austraila based series as relevent today as it was 60 years ago. Great character development, detailed and entertaining data about Aboriginies and the landscape and a mystery I couldn't figure the answer to by page 50. A great summer series, easy to do a book a weekend. Enjoy.

This is the best Bonapart adventure that I've read so far

This Australian author gives the reader an accurate and vivid glimpse into life and love...and murder... in the Australian outback. In this book, the renowned half-caste, Bony, the detective who has never left a case unsolved, does just that in this story. For the first time ever, Bony realizes that he is not perfect. Finding that he is torn between the complete truth and the happiness of another, he decides to make a noble sacrifice. The characters will make you laugh, and the descriptive settings give the reader a rare glimpse into the harsh and dangerous interior of Australia.

I greatly enjoyed this book. The half-Caucasian, half-aborigine Detective Inspector Napolean Bonaparte (Bony to his friends) becomes involved in this case hoping he's found the perfect murder. A man named Marks visits Windee Station then vanishes. The local police assume he was lost in the bush but Bony has reason to think differently. This mystery is populated with a host of interesting outback characters, aborigines, blackmailers, secondary mysteries, and an awe-inspiring fire. The vision of 1930's Australia is exotic to us in this day and age, yet presented with complete understanding. It is worth noting that Bony and his contemporaries are well aware of his biracial status and some of the language used may bother some. The original copyright of this story is over 60 years ago though, and Mr. Upfield's heart and intentions are in the right place.