Ross Books

The last time I ever visited with Ross we were at Shea, in 2005. This was the first time I saw his book. It is an excellent trivia book (even a Yankee fan enjoyed this one!). You know he spent massive amount of time compiling the book!

I would like to give my dad and ross a round of applause. Great book dad! And ross will be in memory forever.

This book represents a lifetime of work by the authors. Ross and Ken live and breathe Mets trivia and these are questions you will not find anywhere else. A Mets fan should not be without this book.

I also want to use this space, to remember my friend Ross Adell, who passed away in June 2006. Ross loved trivia, Seinfeld, the Mets, and his friends- not necessarily in that order. Ross and I attended a number of games at Shea and Fenway over the past decade. I miss him, and I can't believe he's gone.

This is a great trivia book! Co-authors Adell and Samelson draw together hundreds of great trivia questions covering the 40+ year history of Mets history. There are chapters on individuals from Agee to (Mookie) Wilson, plus sections on managers, postseason teams, and miscellaneous chapters including Met trades, uniform numbers, team records, and announcers. I recommend this to Mets fan as well as baseball historians and casual fans.

Purchased for my 9-year-old daughter who swims competitively for our local swim team. We read it together ... she's also read it alone several more times. Recently while walking our dog, she said that she wanted to "do something spectacular like Gertrude Ederle". This story really impressed her. We both love books like these ... success stories about regular people ... like us.

I bought this for my niece, a 7-year-old swimmer, along with a fun swim cap. The illustrations are beautiful-- stylized to fit the time period and reminiscent of the Triplets of Belleville. My niece was so excited that there had been a real swimmer that beat the boys. Adler stays true to history and tells a good story. I would recommend it!

This is a children's biography on Gertrude Ederle. It tells of her life starting with her childhood. We learn that she almost drown as a child and this made her father want to teach her to swim. I learned that she was brave and determined. She worked hard to reach her swimming golas. She won many awards for her swimming races.
I enjoyed learning about a new person. I had never heard of Gertrude Ederle before I read this book.
We would recommend this book. Gertrude Ederle is a good perosn to study. She would make a great role model for girls. Especially girls who are interested in swimming..

A wonderful book. It gave sooo much information. Parents will love it. I feel the author tried to tell us something. I think he wants us to keep trying to accomplish our goals and not be bothered by what other people say.

I agree that this is one of dorothy eden's more unusual books in terms of plot.
The sinking of the Lusitania and switched identities provide the basis of tbe book.
What makes this books stand out is Eden's writing and Hetty aka Clemency's likeability.
However devout eden fan's might find the romance and mystery lacking.

THE LUSITANIA PLAYS IMPORTANT HAND IN THE FATES OF A MISTRESS AND HER LOOK ALIKE MAID. THE MEMORY OF THE SINKING PROPELS THE STORY ALONG TO THE VERY END.

a girl and her maid embark on the last voyage of the Lusitania. There lies the opportunity for the maid, harriet to change her life for the better. If you are a fan of ship disasters, such as the Titanic or the Lusitania, this is a book you will read from start to finish.

When the heroine attempts to be another person, she works hard to live a life that many of us would enjoy. However, as often happens with even the best plans, things often occur that get our very likable heroine in trouble. Her pretended identity was not planned, but when the ship she is traveling on as a maid sinks, she is thought to be the daughter of a well-to-do family. She is the maid, and then she has to fight to keep her true identity a secret as she builds a life that truly has love and worth as its foundation. Its ending is excellent. I enjoyed every minute of the story, even though there were times I found myself very nervous for her well-being. Ms. Eden really makes us care for the characters she so skillfully creates.

This is a fantastic gift for anyone you know who appreciates superb crime fiction. Many of us have known for years how good the Lew Archer novels were, but this collection of short stories and 'case notes' really drives home that fact.

What I liked: a) MacDonald's economic writing style-this man can convey more in a sentence or a toss-aside conversation than some authors can do in a paragraph; b) The descriptive portrayal of post WW II Los Angeles; c) The maturing of Archer as he ages across the two decades encompassed in these stories; d) The wonderful biographical introduction to Lew Archer by the author.

What I didn't like: a) There were only eighteen stories. I could have read a hundred; b) The case notes are painful because they are the nuggets of what has the making to be the nineteenth great short story and then they just end, unfinished.

So we'll just have to live with 18 gems and a dozen or so rough cut fragments.

BTW, if you like this author, his wife Margaret Millar is just as good and any of her books are highly recommenced. She is less well known now, but both were feted highly by the Mystery Writers of America, winning both of them Edgars as well as lifetime achievement awards.

In 1949, Ross Macdonald's private detective Lew Archer made his first appearance in the author's fifth novel, "The Moving Target," which would ultimately be the first of 18 Archer novels. These novels comprise what William Goldman called, "the finest series of detective novels ever written by an American." Not only do the Archer novels tower over those of more recent writers of detective fiction (Robert Parker, Bill Pronzini, Sue Grafton, Michel Collins, etc) but they even eclipse the works of the two famous founding fathers of the genre.

Mathew Bruccoli called Macdonald "the third member of The Big Three authors of the American hard-boiled detective novel," the other two being Dashiel Hammett and Raymond Chandler. Anthony Boucher went even further by calling Macdonald "the best of the three." Hammett originated the tough, unsentimental private detective with the nameless Continental Op and Sam Spade. The Op is the earliest of the hard-boiled dicks and appeared in 36 stories (eight of which were refashioned into two novels.) Perhaps because he is descibed as being overweight and middle-aged, the Op never achieved the popularity of other fictional detectives, though he remains the archetype of this new breed of amoral and sometimes brutal "hero." Since Spade appeared in only one novel (the highly influential "The Maltese Falcon") and three stories, his literary career is limited. Chandler refined the character with his Philip Marlowe who became the epitome of the independent, seemingly insensitive detective driven to solve his cases due to his personal code of honor which is more important to him than official law. Marlowe appears in seven novels and several stories, most memorably in Chandler's masterpiece, "The Long Goodbye." In this novel, the detective achieves a depth of characterization that elevates him to the status of a closeted romantic victimized by a corrupt society. With all due respect to Hammett and Chandler, however, it was Macdonald who converted the detective into a tragic hero while his novels greatly expanded the genre's capacity for social condemnaton and cultural censure.

Ross Macdonald began his career by copying the styles of both Hammett and Chandler. As a result, his early novels are interesting but do not approach the level of those of his mentors. Like most detective fiction, they are driven primarily by the solution of the mystery. However, with the seventh Archer novel, "The Doomsters," Macdonald began his break from Hammett and Chandler to explore new themes and expand his protagonist's characterization. "The Galton Case" followed and perfected this innovative type of detective novel and thereby set a new literary standard for the genre. Although Archer may have beegun his career as a cynical, wise-cracking private eye in the Spade-Marlowe tradition, he was gradually transformed into a compassionate hero who is more interested into understanding the people he investigates and perhaps even helping them, though this is often a futile gesture. These novels and subsequent ones use characterizations and psychological dilemmas to propel the storylines which emerge as examinations of the human condition. Hammett and Chandler are replaced by Sophocles and Freud as inspirations for the plots and resolutions. Through progressively more poetic prose, Macdonald places Archer into complicated plots involving generational conflicts, missing children, childhood traumas, ecological disasters and, especially, the ability of buried secrets to crawl out of their tombs and destroy the innocent. And increasingly, Archer's cases impact upon his own personal problems and affect his life in profound ways. Among the best of the later Archer novels are "The Chill," "Black Money," "The Undergound Man" and "The Blue Hammer" but all are exceptional. When he died in 1983, it was a tragic loss to the literary world and particularly to his fans, especially it has since been reported that he was planning the last Archer novel, a book which would involve his hero's own quest for personal identity with the crime he was investigating. When Macdonald died, Archer also died, his personal dilemmas never resolved, leaving him in literary limbo.

However, with the publication of "The Archer Files," some of the blanks in Archer's life can be filled in. For the first time, all of Macdonald's 12 stories, written from 1946 to 1965, are published together in one volume. (Two previous volumes were incomplete.) It is irrevant that, when originally published, the early stories featured detectives with other names; just as the author was expanding his skill, his detective was slowly evolving into Lew Archer. These early stories do not necessarily represent Macdonald at his best. At the early stage of his career, he was perhaps forced by tradition (and a need for a sale to a mystery magazine) to refrain from stretching the genre. But even these predictable tales are rewarding since they show the gradual development of Macdonald's expertise. Also fascinating is the inclusion of the beginnings of several stories which were temporarily discarded until characterizations and plots could be completely developed. Even more entertaining is a 24-page "biography" of Lew Archer himself, complied by editor Tom Nolan from interior data throughout the series, that brings Archer to life, as if he really existed. Of course, anyone who has read Nolan's 1999 biography of Macdonald knows that Archer to some degree was Macdonald, without the mysteries, without the murders - but perhaps with the same lifelong pursuit of personal identity, the enduring desire to make up for past mistakes, the endless quest to find justice and love in an unjust and emotionally barren world.

Ross MacDonald may well have been the best private eye writer ever, certainly he is my favourite.

In this book, we get to see a biography of Lew Archer, followed by the complete short stories featuring Archer and then the case notes of unfinished books (mainly the first few pages of Chapter 1) that MacDonald had written.

I must admit that I am not a huge fan of short stories as I find that they are too restrictive on an author and I did tire of the stories as I went through the book but nevertheless, the stories are worth a read.

Recommended.

All the Crippen and Landur books are great, but this time we have not only all the short stories, but also a small biography of Archer and ideas of possible stories. The collection is GREAT. (Its a sheme that no one developed the short stories in to a new collection).
If you like PI collections, buy this one.

I have always been fascinated by Marilyn Monroe and often wondered how and why she died so young. There are so many conflicting theories, but the contents of this book are little short of explosive. They may not be correct, though someone must know the truth? Seems never published in the USA. Why not? Has someone got something to hide. Methinks... probably YES!
I would not part with my hardback English copy for $1000.

This book was simply superb, and it contained a lot of hidden information unknown to me. For instance, the lovechild between
Marilyn and Kennedy and the scandalous secrets about the ... Kennedys that led to her death. The author has a very introspective view of the complete chaos her life was in during the end, and of treacherous friends who had woven a web of deceit around her plying her with drugs to keep her off balance
and confused. Luring her to Cal-Neva to be sexually abused and silenced by threats if she persisted in pursuing the Kennedys and vowing to hold a tell-all news conferance that would have been the end of Camelot. Oh! the shame of it all, heres a girl who had it all, beauty, fame and fortune but no inner peace for the tortured Norma Jean. For as it says "What does it mean to gain the whole world but lose your soul"!

I highly recommend this book for anyone who holds a good thought
for Marilyn, and is searching for the truth asto how she really

died, laying to rest the lies and coverup of the suicide theory,
kept in place for over forty years. Dynamite!! 3 thumbs up!!!

This book touched me. Not only does it give you insite in to what really happened that terrible night so long ago, but insight into who Marilyn Monroe really was and some of the reasons behind some of the things she did. The inter-linking of people that entered her life, the Kennedy's, her childhood, marriages, and the details of that terrible night of her death (murder to be sure) are all there. There have been so many books on Marilyn Monroe and speculation of how she died. I read it and kept shaking my head that so many people "got away with" so much! The lies, the cover ups, the "lost" evidence. It's all there. You can't help but feel sorry for a woman that just wanted to be loved, and discusted at the way the investigation (what a joke) was handled. People went to their graves with secrets, but the secrets are out now. If you are a Marilyn fan or into conspiracy theories, this is a great book!

I have always been fascinated by Marilyn Monroe and often wondered how and why she died so young. There are so many conflicting theroies, but the contents of this book are little short of explosive. They may not be correct, though someone must know the truth? Seems never published in the USA. Why not? Has someone got something to hide. Methinks... probably YES! ....

I could not put this book down. Having family that fought on both sides in Southeast Missouri during the Civil War this book gave insights to the thinking on both sides.

Autobiography of Samuel S. Hildebrand: The Renowned Missouri Bushwhacker, deftly edited by journalist and historian Kirby Ross offers an insightful look into the conflicted life of the Civil War guerrilla fighter Samuel S. Hidebrand. As an informative and ably researched interpretation and competently editing of the original memoir, Kirby Ross variably adds key bits of information relevant to our understanding of a Civil War soldier's intricate life. The Autobiography of Samuel S. Hildebrand is highly recommended reading for scholars, historians, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in Civil War Studies.

A reprint of the original 1870 Autobiography, it has been reproduced in various formats the last couple decades. Ross has however, for the first time, edited the work that was written for Sam Hildebrand by boyhood friends, James W. Evans and A. Wendell Keith. For the most part, the 172 pages of text is as it was originally compiled. This is followed by endnotes of 90 pages with a bibliography and index. The true value of the book is in the endnotes.

Ross has skillfully researched and compared Hildebrand's claimed exploits with actual military data to prove statements in the Autobigraphy. He has used many obscure sources and obviously contributed much thought into proving the bushwhacker's tales written five years after the War. Hildebrand was not shy in his statements regarding the men he killed and why they met such a fate. Credit is due the author for his research into Missouri's Enrolled Militia units, Hildebrand's most frequent foe, as most writers do not have the tenacity to tackle this very difficult research.

A less researched area is the genealogy aspects of the story. Unfortunately, Hildebrand was not more candid about his family history while it has always held an interest to the genealogist
and casual reader who may claim a kinship to him. The author could have explored Hildebrand and others' genealogy without too much trouble. Some errors exist in not thoroughly scouring local probate, census and land records. Another drawback is the criticism of others' research, which may be valid but takes away from the main theme of the book---that is editing Hildebrand's version of his Civil War.

In conclusion, a very desirable book for the history on Southeast Missouri during the Civil War.

Although figures such as William C. Quantrill and Bill Anderson are better known today, Sam Hildebrand was an equally notorious Missouri bushwhacker in the southeast region of the state. Operating with a small group of followers (and often by himself), Hildebrand and his rifle "Kill-Devil" were a terror to local Unionist civilians, Vigilance Committee members, and pro-Union Missouri militiamen. Interesingly, some of his ops seem more akin to a Marine scout sniper (albeit alone rather than with a spotter) than a CW bushwhacker. He often scouted alone far from friendly refuge, lying in the woods for days seeking an opportunity to bag his quarry. Hildebrand managed to survive the war only to be killed attempting to escape from court officers holding him on assault charges.

Most 'authors' of edited memoirs simply add background information or short chapters intended to place the memoir in its proper historical context. Here, Kirby Ross has gone far beyond this and has created a book that should be a model for others to follow. It is really two books in one--the memoir and the notes. What makes this new edition important to the study of the Civil War in SE Missouri are the exhaustive notes researched and compiled by Ross. In his notes (which comprise nearly half the book) he takes the claims made by Hildebrand in his book and examines their validity using evidence from all available viewpoints. It is not unusual to see the author spend several pages on a single citation, providing extensive background context and excerpting articles, military reports, and letters from all sides that either support or contradict Hildebrand's story.

It is an impressive effort and is an exceptional addition to the literature of the war in SE Missouri, a place that today carries the deserved reputation of being associated with a dearth of serious scholarship. Ross is certainly doing his part to reverse this unfortunate trend. Highly recommended.

I bought this book for my daughter who loves animals. She was not disappointed. This cute hand sized but large (700+ pages) book is chock full of wonderful pictures of all kinds of baby animals. It's a great gift for an animal lover.

I got this as a gift. The recipient absolutely loves it and has been raving about what an awesome gift it is.

Beautiful pictures, all sorts of animals, perfect gift, must see (better have) one.

The book is small but heavy - it's a high quality print, contaning hundreds of pictures of baby animals by themselves or being cared for by their mothers. The selection is very good, and makes for a great reading with my little kids.

I opened Beat of a Different Drum at a moment in my life when I had uneasily decided to follow my heart away from a job that fit within the career path I'd been crafting for myself, and toward an uncertain future. In my malaise of uncertainty about this decision, I began to read Beat of a Different Drum. Not only the stories Dax-Devlon Ross tells, but also his own act of seeking out these stories, comforted and inspired me. The tales of the people Ross profiles address our fundamental fears and ask us to examine why we make the choices we make; what we look for in life and what, at the end of the day, is truly of value.

Ross' profiles invite the reader in almost as a confidante of the interviewee, and his easy but meticulous style engages the reader without trite or falsely inspirational notes. At the most fundamental level, Beat of a Different Drum is an exciting catalogue of life stories. To me, it was just what I needed at a moment when I was facing choices that left me confused and frustrated.

I must agree with the first two reviewers of this wonderful. The stories and the writing are intriguing and inspiring. This book is not only for young people thinking about what they want to do with their life, it's for those of us seeking new career paths or looking for affirmation that our own "road less taken" is right for us.

Though this book speaks to all audiences, I like how Ross also situates the lives of the people he interviews in the social context of our society. These are not just the "I have made it and you can too" stories. These are stories of people of African descent who didn't/don't take traditional paths in life. They are scientist, artists, political activists, inventors, filmmakers, models, book editors, etc. who chose paths in their life in which they were often met with many obstacles--both racial and personal--but yet were determined to fulfill their aspirations.

I'm glad that Ross didn't choose a question-answer format for this book. Instead, he uses his skills and talent as a writer to tell stories so that we get to know his subjects even better. Plus, you get sense that Ross himself was on a journey himself and thus was able to bring a personal side to these stories, even though it's not a book about his life.

I look forward to future and similar works by this author. One wishes that he turn this book into a talk show, so that even more people can discover what others are doing to move ahead in life and shape a path that that is not about money and fame, but doing something that you love and find fulfilling in your life.

I will recommend this book to many people.

Despite being white, I found tremendous inspiration in this book. Throughout my life I've always been a bit of an outcast, and as such wasn't able to completely fit in with any group. In seeking happiness, I found myself pursuing a great variety of interests from martial arts and Asian culture, to politics and history, to my current passion of producing hip hop music.

Out of the 30 characters I found a number of people that I could relate to in various ways. Marla the filmmaker reminded me of how I was unable to fit in with just about any social group, and showed that someone in such a position could find her passion and follow it. On page 351, Azikwe Chandler says some things about the pressures of a materialistic society that I struggle with on a daily basis: when many of your friends are doing just that while you're trying to chase a dream in music, you often wonder "What am I doing with my life?"

The whole recurring theme that "you don't have to do what society says you have to" further reinforces what my heart has been telling me for a while now - that there's no shame in being different, that the struggle for achieving something positive and special is worth every bit of insecurity, frustration and criticism the world throws at you.

So far I've sent copies of this book to my friend in Trinidad who struggles with following her passion for art while being confined to a culture where traditional roles of women are encouraged from all angles; as well as a friend in the Bronx who deals with life as a single mother, raising her son to be a strong man amongst the reality of poverty and the negativities associated with it.

I strongly recommend this book to anyone who has a dream; it will help you find the courage to follow it.

When he wrote this book, Dax-Devlon Ross gave power to an idea that is dear to my heart--that as African-Americans we don't have to settle for a role or for what's easy and comfortable.

This a perfect book for anyone who is asking themselves "what do I want to be when I grow up?" This goes for high schoolers just about to enter college all the way up to those who are already in the working world and look for a career change. I love the idea that there is a book out there that tells us that we don't have to be limited. There are so many opportunities out there for us and all we need to do is open our eyes to them. It really let me know that I was not the only one who, even though there was doubt and insecurity, took the road less traveled and lived through the struggle and reveled in that choice.

Sometimes we are under the impression that in order to be successful you have to be either an entertainer, in the medical field (preferably as a doctor), a lawyer, or a business person. All we have to do though is look at this book and the people it profiles to know that you can be successful just about anywhere and that success doesn't necessarily have to be financial. It can also be in the way you've lived your life, the happiness you've attained, and the influence you are able to have over others that might be in the same boat.

This book has made me feel validated in the choices I've made and shows that we all can have these choices too.

I bought this book to help me with a school project that involved identifying about fifty different literary devices in a novel. It offered thorough definitions and examples of everything I needed. I will cherish it as an English major.

This book is a must for grad students and advanced undergrads interested in literary studies -- I highly recommend it! It's better priced than other comparable books & better written.

Yes, this is an excellent glossary of terms. It is also much more. Within these 420 pages, the authors have taken time and space to explore in depth the significance of varied approaches to literary analysis and scholarship.

The confusing and politicized nature of 20th Century literary criticism is served well in Murphin & Ray's clear and even-handed explication of various schools and styles. I think that new initiates to literary studies will appreciate the lengthy analyses given to critical schools/styles ( from aestheticism and close reading... to new historicism and 'theory' ). I find that this humbly titled "glossary" offers clearer and fairer insights into of these stormy academic seas that most books claiming "Intro to Criticism" in their titles.

This is a great reference volume for literature students. My only disappointment was the lack of references, and of suggestions for reading in more depth (other than in-passing mention of authors' names and occasional book titles), but that of course would have taken this volume further beyond the class of mere "glossary".

Still, in summary: indispensable - unsurpassed!

This glossary is one of the best I have seen, combining both exhaustive and detailed enteries as well as a wide range of coverage. Literary periods from Old English to the Postmodern are discussed in detail - the article on postmodernism is almost six pages. Critical approaches such as structralism and postcolonialism are lucidly presented. Literary trends and tropes are explained with illustrative examples. Crossrefrencing is particularly very useful. All this makes this glossary a good study aid for both literary students and scholars.

This is the only book I have come across (or teacher for that matter) that understands how to build a voice from scratch properly.

The most important issue addressed is that of the registers. Reid gives historical evidence, his own teaching experience and common sense to support his view. He also gives the essential exercises that are so sorely needed. Understanding and applying these principles aids ease of execution, range, power, voice movement (not wobbling or bleating!)and beauty of tone.

My voice is improving in every respect all the time.

I searched for this book and finally found it. It made an impression on me in my college days when I sought to master my falsetto and them blend it with my chest register as the "middle voice".

Priceless information, especially for the tenor and alto, who must transition the "vocal gap" on a regular basis to utilize their full range.

Two-Thumbs-Up!

This is the only book I have come across (or teacher for that matter) that understands how to build a voice from scratch properly.

The most important issue addressed is that of the registers. Reid gives historical evidence, his own teaching experience and common sense to support his view. He also gives the essential exercises that are so sorely needed. Understanding and applying these principles aids ease of execution, range, power, voice movement (not wobbling or bleating!)and beauty of tone.

My voice is improving in every respect all the time.

This book and the other two books in Cornelius Reid's trilogy on Bel Canto technique (The Free Voice, Psyche and Soma) are the best contemporary books on vocal technique I have found. Mr. Reid thoroughly understands the function of vocal registers- the only correct way to gain complete control over the voice- which is often ignored by many voice teachers today, especially for male students. His writings are based on the teachings of great voice teachers of the past. If you are looking for a voice teacher, read this book first. If the teacher does not agree with the concepts in this book and actively apply them, he/she probably cannot help you reach your full potential unless you have a perfectly balanced voice by nature. I do not just highly recommend these books, they have made the difference for me between near hopelessness and hope for a career as a singer.