Ross Books

Though I sometimes find Alex Ross's art to be a little TOO realistic, there are infinitely more instances where his painted work here is majestic and iconic beyond words. And speaking of words, Paul Dini demonstrates a deep understanding of each character represented here and tells their tales capably, thoughtfully, and emotionally. It's a gorgeous volume for a killer price. Grab it.

As the title says this book is a must have if you are a fan of the staple DC heroes at all.

The World's Greatest Super-Heroes is part comic, part encyclopedia giving you a good story as well as the background on some of the oldest super-heroes in the industry.

If you haven't yet seen the book in person let me make sure one thing is abundanlt clear: It...is...big. It comes in a hard-cover sleeve (the same sort of system you get full season TV shows on DVD) that measures in at 9.5" x 13". This information is readily available but people may still be in for a shock when they receive the book.

Once you pull the book from it's housing you will find a fantastic hard-cover book with an artistic sleeve over it. Why do I bother commenting about he artistic sleeve? Well, because it is painted by Alex Ross, a man who I think should be heralded as one of the "World's Greatest Comic Artits".

My first fun in with Alex's work was the Kingdom Come series. If you have ever picked up and read a comic in your life then you know the medium (style and materials of art) has changed over the last century. Modern comics are actually computer shaded and coloured for the most part. Before that was the great days of the sketch artist, inker, colour artist system. Jump way, way back and we had the basic sketch artist to colour-dot print colouring system.

Well, Alex Ross doesn't use a single one of those systems. No, the man uses oil paints. Having as many artists around me as I do in my life I can appreciate the skill required for this sort of work. In fact, I have watched Alex paint real-time on a few television shots. He brings the comic book, which is really a hard set of words to use when it comes to Ross' work, characters to a new photo-realistic quality. Seriously, if you are reading this and you have never seen a single piece of Alex's work stop reading and Google the man. You just might be impressed.

It's funny, I own over 700 comic books myself, some 40+ years old. I was a Marvel fanatic when I was younger, but I find as I age that the DC universe actually holds more for me. I blame this partly on Alex Ross, Paul Dini, Marv Wolfman, and Mark Waid for bringing me such deep stories with true emotion then presenting them in brilliant form. I know I have harped on Alex Ross' work but the authors mentioned above should be lauded for their work as well (with the respective works being The World's Greatest Super Heroes, Crisis on Infinite Earths, and Kingdom Come).

Either way, if you love anything DC you should own this book.

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I am not a knowledgable comic person but the art work and the information for me was just outstanding.

Ross and Dini did a fantastic job in delivering powerful and heartfelt stories surrounding these great characters. Its A+ work from some of comicdoms most fantastic creators. A must own.

Alex Ross is an incredible artist and this is the type of book that really showcases his art. If you are a dc comics fan and a fan of incredible art work get this book.

Marilyn's book is not just for Brazen Hussies, though it helps if you are one! GREAT marketing book for anyone in business. I would highly recommend it. She gives examples and real life situations to help you with your marketing. I would highly recommend this book.
Michelle Dunn

Don't be deterred by the title and subtitle, nor by the sometimes overheated diction. (Initially, I was.) This book provides an abundance of practical strategies, tactics, and suggestions which can be of invaluable assistance to males as well as to females, to corporate marketing executives as well as to entrepreneurs. Without apologies, Ross has an in-your-face style. She wastes neither her time nor her reader's in getting to the point, nailing it, and then moving on to another point.

She organizes the material within six Parts:

I. Empowering Marketing Maneuvers

II. Illuminating Publicity Techniques for Femme Fatales and Grande Dames

Note: As I previously suggested, ignore the overheated diction.

III. "Out of the Box" Thinking -- Nontraditional Marketing

IV. Mission Possible -- Unstoppable Direct Marketing

V. Maximize Your Strengths -- More Gutsy Strategies for Wonder Women

NOTE: See previous "Note."

VI. Sources & Resources Packed With More Power Than a Protein Bar

She also includes a "Recommended Reading" section. Because other excellent books have been published since 2000, I presume to suggest several at the conclusion of this review.

Ross obviously favors a tone and diction in her writing which could perhaps (just perhaps) distract some readers from the fundamentally sound material she provides. She may seem playful at time but she is nonetheless quite serious about the importance of combining prudent speed with relentless determination to achieve what Jim Collins calls a BEHAG: a Big Hairy Audacious Goal. Only in recent years have women somehow overcome formidable barriers to achieve success in the business world, most of which were installed and then sustained by men. Today, at least 80% (and probably more) of the growth our nation's GNP has been achieved by companies with 20 or fewer employees and a substantial majority of those companies are owned by women.

This book will be of substantial benefit to those women but also to other women who need both encouragement and guidance, either to join the ranks of company owners or to expedite the progress of their careers within other organizations. I am also convinced that this book will be of substantial benefit to other entrepreneurs, male or female, who also need such encouragement and guidance. I urge those who share my high regard for this book to check out the Customer Reviews of the works identified by Ross in the "Recommended Reading" section.

Here are other works which should also be seriously considered: Beemer's Predatory Marketing, Catalyst's Advancing Women in Business, Jennings and Haughton's It's Not the Big That Eat the Small...It Is the Fast That Eat the Slow, Glaser and Smalley's Swim with the Dolphins, Kawasaki's Selling the Dream, Landrum's Profiles of Female Genius, Morgan's Eating the Big Fish, Breaking the Glass Ceiling co-edited by Morrison, White, and Van Elsor, Swiss's Women Breaking Through, Taylor and Archer's Up Against the Wal-Marts, and Wymard's Conversations with Uncommon Women. Amazon.com features Customer Reviews of these works also.

Great book. I never write reviews, but it was so good I was compelled to write this. Great ideas, not too advanced, not too simplistic.

This book is a gold mine of useful strategies and resources. While it ia targeted at women, as a man I find it packed with ways to market more effectively. I find the web resources cited very useful. I recommend this book to all marketers who want to penetrate their markets more deeply and more profitably.

Absolutely necessary book for anyone who wants to market and promote their product. This book was soooo helpful to me that I recommend it to everyone I come across who is wishing to find fabulous websites, helpful hints and tips to save time and money, and absolutely necessary ideas for marketing. There just isn't another book as complete, except maybe Marilyn's other title, "The Complete Guide to Book Publishing"

Ron "Ragen" Ross is THE MAN!
This book is packed full of useful and easy to understand information for absolutely EVERYONE! I have read many similar books by other authors and they fail in comparison. If you use MONEY, and we all do, you would be doing yourself a huge disservice by not buying this book ASAP!
Go Ron and Reno! You did it again!

This is the most eloquent, most entertaining, and most convincing attack on "beating the market" that I have ever read. The author has a PhD in economics but writes with a journalist's skill. His prose is fluent, readable. I thought the most interesting part of the book was the chart comparing the performance records of golf pros to the performance records of mutual funds -- an extremely effective presentation. Do I think any of his arguments can be refuted? Yes...a few. But on the whole this book is a balloon-bursting attack on active investing.

Very solid book, a great beginner to intermediate education on the market. Not for the novice, but for the fairly familiar person who knows how to do there own investing you would very much enjoy this. If you are a complete novice this would not be the place to start. Check out Suze Ormans book "The road to wealth" and learn the basics on stocks, mutual funds and bonds. Then read this...

This is the best book I have seen regarding investing for retirement. Don't waste your time or money trying to beat the market, just understand Dr. Ross' basic principles for dealing with a volatile market. Forget the "get rich quick" models and come down to earth and use common sense and indexing. The first 2 chapters alone are worth the price of the book.

My career as a retail stockbroker for six years, then for twenty-seven years as an institutional stockbroker selling portfolio analytics and investment research to professional asset managers (pension plan managers, mutual fund managers, and hedge fund managers) has provided me with the opportunity to explore modern portfolio theory, market efficiency, and the investment returns of active managers. I have read many of the books and academic papers Professor Ross uses as resources in this very coherent and thorough explanation of why the attempt to "beat the market" is futile, and fraught with risk.

Professor Ross uses his deep understanding of statistics, economics, and behavioral finance to explain market efficiency. He weaves a tight, coherent, and entertaining explanation of why the statistical evidence (manager performance databases) demonstrate most active managers cannot sustain above market performance for any significant time period. And he explains the risks of believing that the few active managers who have "outperformed" will continue to do so.

Professor Ross' book is the drawstring that pulls the elements of the Efficient Market Theory into a focused, concise, entertaining, and very readable format. I give Professor Ross' book my highest recommendation.

This book created an interest in reading for my 7 year old at that time when reading became more of a struggle than a delight. We stumbled across Little Wolf's Book on the not so exciting weekly trip to the library. My son started reading the book in the car and for once I had to make him put a book down before coming to my dinning room table. My son read the book in four days and even took it to school and told some of his friends about Little Wolf. My son even took his own money and bought himself a journal. This book even encourages other good habits. To this day my son writes daily, sometimes twice a day. I am loving every bit of his enthusiasm toward reading and writing.

For the person who ridicules this book must have been born a reader, born a master of the English language and never had to start at A then make his/her way to Z! From my son's experience with this book I can attest to the knowledge we fail to recognize our children have. My son took the misspelled words and related to them. When he first began writing the words resembled the misspelled words in the book. He wrote the sounds he heard just as he heard them. It's all in the process of learning. It made my son feel better knowing that he is not the only one misspells words while writing. Little did I know this book was made for the 9-12 age groups, not for a seven year old, but it worked wonders. Built his confidence and created a passion for reading and writing. Thank you Ian Whybrow!

I enjoyed this book so much that I took it to college and showed all my friends there. Why do I have the time to waste as such? Because my university is nowhere near as fun as Cunning College. Given the choice between Cunning College and a burger, I would choose C.C. Between C.C. and a reservation in the kingdom of heaven, C.C. wins again. Briefly put, I'd choose hanging out with Little Wolf over just about anything.

As for the reviewer who disapproves of the misspellings: boo shame to you. Teaching kids to recognize misspellings quite obviously improves "correct and standard procedure", and also draws attention to the possibilities of FUN in language. In any case, wolves are the greatest animals on God's earth. If Little Wolf chooses to spell "spoon", for example, as GIRHEIGHAervgori, then I salute him, as one must always salute a wolf.

As Bruce Springsteen once famously sang (and still does to the adoring middle aged inhabitants of New Jersey), "everybody needs a hunting wolf". Possibly the only true thing he ever said.

In my humble opinion, Little Wolf's book of badness rivals Joyce's Ulysses and Dostoyevsky's Brothers Karamazov for the title of finest novel ever.

I loved this book, and i'm in my 40's! Little Wolf's postcards and letters home were so funny, the way he would use a different salutation in every one. I loaned it to a friend at work who is older than i am and she liked it too, so i would recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good read.

I liked this book because it is soooo hilarious and soooo funny.

How do you become a big, bad wolf? Why, go to Big Bad Wolf College, of course! Our 2nd grade book club thoroughly enjoyed this funny book. It is written entirely in letter form - letters home from Little Wolf - about his adventures going to Cunning College to learn from his Uncle Bigbad. The kids enjoyed finding the misspelled words and the words Little Wolf made up to end his letters, which gave his parents an idea of how his day had gone, e.g. "Yours sorebottomly". Girls & boys liked it equally well - almost all of them gave it 5 stars. Is Little Wolf destined to become a Big Bad Wolf? You'll have to read it to find out!

If you like a book that will make you relax and think about life's small and big choices, this is the one for you.. A book written in an inovative and funny way. This is really a great book!

I think Druthering will for sure become part of popular culture.

We have really enjoyed druthering. My seven year old didn't want to quit! I like the fact that this book is appropriate for any age. I enjoy hearing why people choose the answers they do. I'm giving these out for Christmas presents. I'd much rather have a book like this than fruitcake! : )

I have really enjoyed this fun piece of literature. Iy really makes you think. Try it, you'll love it. A wonderful replacement for all the boring small-talk at parties. Great gift for the holidays.

If I had my druthers, I would not have been in a car with my least-favorite cousins on a two-hour road trip to a "must-do" family gathering. The only thing that saved civility in the car was that I had grabbed my copy of The Book of Druthers before leaving. Once on the interstate, I opened the book and read aloud the first druthers. It was an easy ride from then on. Indeed, by the time we had reached our destination, I liked and had great respect for my cousins. And I think they can now tolerate me. The Book of Druthers, then, is not only good for road trip entertainment, it can bring a family closer together. Now, I think I will sit and think through it in solitude.

This book is eye-opening! I have been an avid fan of Harry Potter for years with many reads of the entire series under my belt. I teach a Harry Potter class to elementary & middle school aged kids in the summer (which is why I bought this book). It is so much fun to realize how deep the HP universe really is! I can't wait for volumes 2 & 3 to come out.

This book is wonderfully organized and easy to use. The information is totally fascinating and the questions range from moderately to extremely challenging. There are also some great pages of trivia about the trivia answers.

For all who want to explore even more into the world of Harry Potter, this book is a great buy. Highly recommended!

for someone who is wanting to enjoy a challenging afternoon this is the book for you.Rachelene Maltanese has formated her book in such a way that the beginning,casual and the serious readers of the Harry Potter series will tested in their knowledge of potions,spells,curses,witches and wizards and myriad other topics by her Salamander,Phoenix and Dragon levels.this book is highly recommended for any HP group disussion or just to bone up on your knowledge, or lack thereof.So purchase this product, sit back and enjoy

I got this book for my 3 kids, ages 11,18 and 22 who are all Harry Potter book fanatics and used to sit around and make up trivia questions to try to stump each other (especially the older 2). They all have enjoyed taking the quizzes and it is both challenging and entertaining. I would definitely recommend it for those who think they are well versed in Potter minutia--you might be surprised!

I'll come right out and admit that I expected this book to be a cakewalk. I've read the entire series of books multiple times, and I was convinced that I'd have no problem answering even the difficult questions. Well, I've been well and truly humbled.

Ms. Maltese has gathered an incredible range of facts and tidbits from seemingly nowhere. The book itself is divided into individual quests, or areas of knowledge, then further broken down into three levels of difficulty: salamander, phoenix, and dragon. I knew I was in trouble when I started missing phoenix questions!

Fortunately, the answers are supplied at the end of the chapter, along with some fun trivia bits. I actually went and double-checked some of those answers for accuracy, and the book was right every time.

This book would be a great at a party, or for a fund-raiser trivia quiz. I think this would also be a great idea translated into other languages, since many of the character names are completely different in each country.

My hat is off to Ms. Maltese and her impeccable research skills. I challenge all Potter fans to try their hand and test their Potter knowledge!

Having just finished this book, I'm going to skip ahead and say: I am delighted.


Skipping backwards, however:


- The simple skill levels provide an excellent ladder into the suprisingly voluminous information within: Young fans will be thrilled to be quizzed as Salamanders (Level 1), drawn on to learn more and graduate to Phoenixes (Level 2), and even adult fans will be challenged by Level 3, the Dragon.


- Hint boxes on almost every page make sure the reader isn't left to flounder if they're lost (or tempted to cheat!). They don't chivvy, scold, or insult, but instead encourage lateral thinking to get at the answers.


- However, the best part might be the extras. The answers are not simple, dry solutions; they are complete and filled with additional content and facts, making it a surprisingly useful reference.


- Trivia Tidbits! Never let it be said that curiosity, once fanned, was allowed to fizzle. The "tidbits" are actually quite meaty asides that often bring in real-world comparisons, point out the historical fact and mythology woven through the Harry Potter books, and encourage outside research and reading.


A wonderful idea for parents might be to purchase the book prior to a birthday and use the questions as a party game. This would work equally well for teenagers, and even adults. Harry Potter appeals to nearly everyone, and this book makes it fun to share trivia and thoughts on the series with friends.

These stories set in Mr. Parkhill's classroom at the American Night Preparatory School for Adults ("English -- Americanization -- Civics -- Preparation for Naturalization") are wonderfully humorous and warm. They reflect a generous humanity and a keen ear for language in author Leo Rosten (1908-1997), who first wrote the stories for The New Yorker using the pen name Leonard Q. Ross.

When Rosten wrote the stories in the 1930s, the debate that had roiled American society over the high levels of immigration at the beginning of the century had ended with passage of the restrictive Johnson-Reed Immigration Act of 1924. Readers of The New Yorker could well remember the rancor and the stereotyping of the debate.

Rosten countered the prejudice against immigrants by portraying Mr. Parkhill's students, drawn from several national and ethnic groups, as earnest learners eager to know about and join American society by first learning the English language.

When people from different cultures meet, there are bound to be some collisions. A dark side take on those meetings is the ethnic joke. The bright side is this book, finding humor in the encounters that all can smile at.

I read The Education of H*Y*M*A*N K*A*P*L*A*N as a teenager in the early 1960s. Though I do not recall negative attitudes about immigration in my family, school, or suburban New Jersey neighborhood in that decade, the book surely shaped my attitudes and feelings about immigrants and immigration in a positive way. Hyman Kaplan taught me immigrants make America a better and richer society.

Each time I look through the book now, I worry whether Rosten crossed any of our modern "PC" redlines that would cause it to be crossed off reading lists. The book's humor ("comic dialect" is the scholar's term) depends on the rendering of accents, not much used at present. I found one use of the N-word (misspelled, in accent, not in anger) by a student character. On the whole, however, the book stands up well.

I give copies of this book to friends who are ESL (English as a Second Language) teachers. Leo Rosten's own nights as an ESL teacher, while he was working on his Ph.D., gave him the inspiration for the stories.

The shape of our nation's immigration policy is certainly a licit issue for debate and disagreement. Current immigration has some different countours than in the 1930s. Some voices, however, get carried away and tip over into negative stereotyping. They should take a break, have a cup of coffee, read this book, and meet Mr. Kaplan.

-30-

Having just begun teaching English As A Second Language to a group of Asian adults, a relative thought I might enjoy "The Education of Hyman Kaplan". The novel takes place entirely at the American Night Preparatory School for Adults. There under the tutelage of Mr. Parkhill, Hyman Kaplan, Miss Mitnick, Miss Caravello, Mrs. Moskowitz and an assortment of Jewish and Italian immigrants struggle with the complexities of the English language, anxious to master the language and learn about the history and culture of their newly adopted home. The irrepressible Mr. Kaplan takes center stage in the classroom with his singular logic in using the English language. Abraham Lincoln becomes Abram Lincohen, King George III of England is an autocrap, and Valley Forge becomes Velly Fudges. Kaplan conjugates the tense to die as "die, dead, funeral", and when talking of the contents of a newpaper he can't understand why he must say "it said", instead of "he said", since the paper is decidedly of the masculine gender. It's the Harold Tribune after all. This is a hilarious yet touching book. We are never laughing at Hyman Kaplan's linguistic foibles but with him, as we appreciate the struggles of all immigrants, those seventy years ago, or those today to come to terms with becoming Americans and learning the language that binds us together.

Think you can read an uproariously funny book without laughing out loud? Think again. Adventures of an English-as-a-second-language class for new immigrants in 1950's America.

As a new ESL teacher, my husband thought I'd enjoy this book. H*Y*M*A*N K*A*P*L*A*N* is an irrepressible immigrant to the US, struggling to master English, but that doesn't stop him from communicating at every opportunity. Waves of malapropisms spoken with a thick Eastern European accent don't get in the way of his enthusiasm. Set in the 30's, this is a world where teachers and students are Mr., Mrs. and Miss, immigrants worked in garment factories, and all still believe in the American Dream. Even Mr. Parkhill, the god-like teacher, can't help but be infected by Mr. Kaplan's unique interpretations of the great works of English literature--the Shakespeare story was a classic. Definitely dated, certainly politically incorrect, these stories hail from a simpler, but maybe tougher time--Leo Rosten originally wrote under the name Leonard Ross. A lovely little collection of stories!

This book, along with its sequel, "The Return of H*y*m*a*n K*a*p*l*a*n," (and don't be fooled, those stars are important) is a beautiful work and one that I'm surprised hasn't been rediscovered by critics and readers alike. Originally published as a series of stories in a magazine, these stories were finally collected into book form and later combined with its sequel in a grand form called O, K*a*p*l*a*n, My K*a*p*l*a*n (which is now out-of-print, but worth reading if you find it in a library or rare book store, since it was edited and improved by the author, with new characters and stories).

The stories all revolve around a group of immigrant adults attending the American Night Preparatory School for Adults in New York City in the 1930s. Under the tutelage of the fastidious, but patient and kind, Mr. Parkhill, the book chronicles their challenges in learning the English language. This is in and of itself a masterpiece: Leo Rosten (who had to publish the stories under a pseudonym since he wrote them while living off a fellowship and did not want to let his professors know that he was working on totally unrelated research) has found humor in GRAMMAR!! He not only shows how difficult English is to master, but how irrational and arbitrary the grammatical rules are that we all, as students, desperately try to commit to memory. Moreover, he writes with an expert ear, hearing the subtle differences in the accents and common foibles of English speakers from various language backgrounds. The fact that these passages are life-out-loud funny (and not at all in the sense of laughing at any character's mistakes but at the English language itself for torturing non-native speakers so) is astounding enough.

But this is the story, however, of a true comic hero - Hyman Kaplan. Leo Rosten has created a character as complex and poignant as Shakespeare's Falstaff, or John Kennedy Toole's Ignatius J. Reilly. Hyman Kaplan is a force of nature, yet distinctly human -- irrascible, dogmatic, determined and yet sensitive, noble and joyous. He is a man who refuses to kow-tow to the rules and guidelines of the English language and who truly relishes the joys of wrestling with learning. Since his exuberance leads him into constant conflict with his fellow students, his character is one of the greatest literary devices ever devised by an author. The stars emblazoned in red, green and blue crayon that are part of his signature, only serve as the ultimate monogram, defining this character as one worthy of the ages.

While this book is about efforts by foreigners to assimilate as Americans, it also highlights the glories of America's immigrant, melting-pot past -- a heritage and tradition that is sadly rapidly being forgotten and lost in this modern globalized world. Moreover, with the advent of the politically correct era of hypersensitivity, it is likely that this book will never experience a renaissance of popular support that it richly deserves. This is a true treasure -- I discovered it as a teenager and have often enjoyed returning many times to visit with these charming, inspiring characters. I cannot recommend it enough!

First Off: When buying a slipcased, oversized comic book you should always CHECK THE QUALITY. This book in particular came with a torn up slipcase.

I'm by no means a "comic book" guy. Everyone I know puts this book in the league of extraordinary comics (such as Watchmen, Dark Night Returns) but I cannot figure out why.

The story is rushed and sporadic (see: the building/filling of the prison). The reproduction of the artwork is spotty (as many have pointed out). The overall length is depressingly short. The comic doesn't take its time and develop; it makes a mad dash for the finish line, ignoring its initial themes in favor of a quick, predictable ending.

The story is magnificent, the wide array of background characters and new characters provides a rich backdrop for the conflict, and the artwork is absolutely amazing.

A ground-breaking must-read for any fan of DC comics characters!

The hardcover Absolute Kingdom Come is one of the BEST hardcover comics I own. The story is excellent as well. If you want a comic that will boost your collection this is definitely one of the ones to choose!

Exactly what I was looking for at a great price! My husband could not get enough of it - he has read it from cover to cover!!

This book was the best gift I've ever given. I've read it before and its a must read by for any comic lover. Plus, the price is unbeatable because it normally goes for atleast $75 in any give bookstore. It came in awesome condition and very timely. A high reccomended item for any comic fan.

Got turned on to this from some firends who were talking about it and it was absolutely worth the read. Hope he comes out with another book soon.

An exciting new voice. I can't think of any work in my recent experience that has the unflagging depth and intensity of Diatribe. At times, it is harrowing, but, the author juxtaposes this seriousness with self-depricating humor and wit to examine the trials and tribulations of the unnamed narrator. The author also seems to have uncovered for the reader the passion and rawness of mental illness and life itself. Overall, a gripping, illuminating, and moving work.

I'd call Diatribe one of the most ambitious novel written in a long time. If the novel is not always easy to understand, it is because the world isn't. Bezark has got more of our reality into his language than any other contemporary novelist I know of. This may take a back some readers, but this work really is an amazing achievement. The novel's strategies befit the enormity of the challenge faced by a character trying to identify the locus of his personal and intellectual live in a time of upheaval.

This was a really funny, yet thought-provoking and heart-felt work. An edgy and unique writing style. Worth reading.

This was a really great book. It was surprising in that it was humorous, yet sad and haunting in other parts. The author mixed the flow of these alternating moods quite well and his unique style is refreshing in these days of standard linear (boring) story telling. Very strong and honest.

I have been branching out to a wide variety of new authors. I had only read one of Ross's books prior to Fair Haven. It is the prequel to this book, A Woman's Heart. A Woman's Heart earned a five star rating when I reviewed it on Amazon. Fair Haven, however, will not rate as high. Joann Ross is a very good author and writes charming, personable stories full of Irish history and fables. But Fair Haven was a fairly boring book. The Irish history was interesting but I admit that I am not drawn to ancient Irish myths, fairies, guardian angels, and ghosts of relatives. There are many very old Irish tales told in this book by my more than one character. I know it is to draw me into this slightly magical world of Ireland in present day. But the tales were lackluster and the appearance of the dead or the reliving of lives through reincarnation was wearisome rather than intriguing. I state all this upfront for you to understand my reasons for rating this book three stars.

This is a story of family, recovery, death, love, and magic. It reads like a novel rather than a romance novel. The romance is only a portion of this book (probably a third) and the remainder of the book concentrates on secondary characters, characters from the previous book in this series, and - as mentioned before - the telling of many, many Irish legends.

Michael Joyce, the brother of Nora from A Woman's Heart, is the hero of Fair Haven. He is a celebrated photographer who has covered the wars across the world and has become cynical and withdrawn in the process. Although he has won a Pulitzer Prize for his work and published books, he no longer wants to be associated with the dredges of war and ethnic cleansing. He has returned to his farm in Ireland and spends all of this time alone attempting to find a life again after becoming a shell of a man.

Erin O'Halloran is a physician who has worked the hospitals on the warfronts of the world in relief aid. She too has seen the atrocities that Michael has seen and is burning out. Her best friend and former relief worker, Tom Flannery, also a physician, is dying in his home country of Ireland. Erin goes to Ireland to assist Tom in his medical practice and to find a cure for Tom. She is a rather stubborn, single-minded lady who has known little but school and medicine in her life. She first meets Michael when Tom picks her up at the airport. Michael is a best friend of Tom's as well and he has accompanied Tom to assist in the driving. Erin recognizes Michael immediately although they have never meet. He is quite a celebrity as a photojournalist and she casts him in the same mold as all journalists - only out to record the horrors of the world on film and make themselves famous in the process.

Michael and Erin clash almost immediately. It is difficult for them both to recognize any attraction between them. I found the first half of the book to be very slow and somewhat tedious. I made a few notes as a read and read, hoping to finally find the story moving forward.
Page 181 - I must consider Ross's books as more fiction than romance. It's page 181 and the leads don't even really think they are attracted to one another yet. At this point, this book would be no more than a three star review.
Page 230 - I still don't like Erin, the heroine. She has just made such an immature, bratty, and unfeeling remark to the hero that I feel like giving up reading anymore of this book.

I continued reading however, and thank goodness I did because the last one-quarter of the book was tender and intriguing reading. Erin makes a sudden and almost unbelievable shift in her attitude towards Michael and life in general. But it allows the romance to develop and Michael's daughter gradually assumes a larger role in the story. If Fair Haven had been my first Ross book, it would have been difficult for me to read another. However, A Woman's Heart was my first Ross book and so precious that I will still seek more of her books for reading.

Erin O'Halloran is off to try and save one of her best friends in Ireland. She is called by her friend Tom to help with his medical practice as he is dying. As a fellow member of "Dr.'s without Borders" she immediately is off to not only help him but to find a cure for him also.

Michael is a boyhood friend of Tom's and trying to shut out the world. He has returned to Ireland after leading a dangerous life as an award winning photojournalist. As a matter of fact, one of his last assignments almost got him killed in the same area where Tom and Erin were working. He now has a simple life of farming and sheep herding. Suddenly things change for him. The mother of an ex-girlfriend drops by with a child. She says not only has her daughter died but the child is his, and is 6 years old. Michael is stunned but instantly mesmerized by the child and takes her in.

While neither Erin nor Michael is looking for a relationship they are instantly drawn together. In fact circumstances seem to make them closer than either intended. As Tom gets sicker and it looks like Erin can't figure out how to save him she finds herself wanting to take over his practice permanently. She has fallen in love with the land and the people.

Suddenly Michael's daughter is having issues with behavior and memory. She seems to have things happen or act out in ways that don't seem consistent with her personality. When she falls unconscious Erin is able to help determine that she has a brain tumor. Erin calls in a specialist she knows from DWOB and they manage to save the little girl Erin and Michael finally face the fact they are better together as a family than apart.

I was a bit surprised by the amount of magical interaction in this story as I had started reading JR with her more recent romantic suspense's (Blaze and Impulse) so I was taken aback. But, the book was still very well written and caused me to be concerned along with the characters as to the tragedy and human spirit that was portrayed in the book. I think it is another good one by JR.

As a relief doctor, Erin O'Halloran has seen things that most people only see in their nightmares. When her best friend and mentor calls from Ireland and tells her that he is ill, Erin flies over to find something to save him. She is ill prepared for the magic of Ireland, nor for Michael Joyce, whom she is drawn to like she has been drawn to no other man.

Michael Joyce has gone into seclusion at his home. Away from prying eyes and gossipy mouths, Michael is content with his solitary life. When the mother of one of his ex-lovers shows up with an eight year old girl in tow, Michael sees is solitary exsistance dissolving as if it never exsisted. When he first sees the lovely Dr. O'Halloran, Michael vows to stay away from her, as his life has enough complications.

Ross brings the reader to the magic of Ireland, again, where anything is possible, from having guardian angels to talking with people that have passed away. She brings together Erin and Michael in an unbelieveable story that she makes the reader believe. The reader will also love Shea, Michael's daughter, from the first page she graces. I can't wait until Ross's next book about Ireland comes out!

This book was wonderful! All the characters - Michael,Erin, Tom, Shea, - were "real" and the whole story was believable. Even the Irish magic that was woven in. Michael and Erin's love story was sweet and passionate. My special favourite was Shea: what a litle charmer! She had all the insecurities 8 year olds have, though. Sometimes kids that age act so mature and grownup that you forget they need to be constantly reassured about family security and love. Ross' style reminded me of Nora Roberts and Maeve Binchy. She's an excellent writer and this is truly an exceptional novel. Bravo!

This was my 1st JoAnn Ross to read- and it won't be my last! After arriving home to spend some time with her family, Dr. Erin O'Halloran receives a request from a dear friend to travel to Western Ireland. After years of working on the front lines of war, Dr. Tom Flanner is now dying at a young age from the effects of gas warfare. He says that his reason for requesting her to come is for her to help with his medical practice as he slowly loses his strength and becomes bedridden but there's a hidden agenda.

Michael Joyce has come home after spending years as a Pulitzer Prize Award photographer from the front lines of war needing to recover physically and emotionally from the effects of war. He has escaped to his family farm but the ghosts are even there. His childhood friend Dr. Tom Flannery is dying. While Michael is having to face the future loss of his best friend Tom, he is approached by his old girlfriend's mother accompanied by a little girl. He discovers that the past girlfriend/lover was killed in a bombing at her wedding and has left a daughter who she claimed was Michael's by blood. Michael who never wanted to marry, much less have kids, now finds himself with a daughter he did not know existed to raise.

After leaving Coldwater Cove, Washington, Erin travels across the world to Castlelough, Ireland. She is introduced to Michael at the airport by Tom and her first impression of Michael is one of his being a cold- hard man. But as time goes by she learns that he does have a warm heart and they have a lot in common from what they both experienced with war. As time goes by Erin feels she has come home and known Michael forever, which can not be since they just met- and there is a little mystery there that I will leave for the reader.

It is a story of the love between friends, father-daughter, lovers, family, etc. The setting being in Ireland is delightful. I really enjoyed this story! and highly recommend it to the reader. I will go back and get the prequel A Woman's Heart- I enjoyed the story that much.