Shaw Books

Samantha's grandfather, Barney, is under suspicion of hiring a hit man to try to kill magician spoiler Shane. Samantha owns and runs Heart Mates dating service, but she also works part-time as a PI under her ex-cop PI boyfriend, Gabe. Samantha is hired by Nikki and her grandmother to find out which magician Shane plans to expose in his upcoming show that will be televised.

Plus Sam and Gabe are deep in renovations. They are putting their two businesses under one roof. Gabe's brother Cal shows up and helps with renovations, but Sam is sure there is another reason Cal is in town, even though the guys won't admit it.

Amidst everything else going on, Lola appears at Heart Mates. Blaine, Samantha's assistant, cannot stand her. Sam has to keep the two of them apart as well as figure out what is going on there while trying to keep her grandfather out of jail and figure out who did kill Shane.

Sam is a great character. She is an ex-soccer mom, but she no longer sits on the sidelines. In this book she is trying to decide whether she wants to continue learning to be a PI. Plus, where does Gabe fit in her life?

Shane's death is difficult for her to solve as all the suspects are friends of hers. Can she uncover the truth without hurting the ones she loves?

I like this series a lot. The interaction between Gabe and Sam is great. Her family is well written and interspersed throughout the mystery.

I highly recommend this book.

Barney, sams grandfather is in trouble. He is being blamed for a "hit" on a magician spoiler. the only problem is, he knows the spoiler and had at one time took him under his wing.
Puluzzi and his brother are on the outs! Cal, his brother is in town to hlep with the renovations of the Heartmates/Pulizzi investigations. He is on leave from firefighting after being blamed for jumping on a man and beating him up.
The investigation turns sour when barney realizes it could be a person in his Triple M magic club that had the hit man hired and worse yet it could be a good friend.
Sam of course gets into all kinds of trouble, and she a Gabe have a huge fight. To make matters worse, her assistant, Blaine, has a long lost wife show up and he's not happy.
The ending is very surprizing and very good with a nifty twist.. Promise in the future of Sam's long lost father whom she knows nothing about is a good teazer for another book.

Samantha Shaw, owner of Heart Mates dating service, and her boyfriend former cop turned private investigator Gabe Pulizzi tear down the walls that separate their businesses as he mentors her so that she can legally work his cases. However, her next investigation does not come from her teacher, but from her grandfather, Barney Webb, accused by acclaimed magician Shane Masters of hiring someone to kill him.

Shane was once a magician's apprentice learning the trade under Barney before becoming a traitor to his profession, exposing the master tricks of other magicians. He comes to Lake Elsinore to perform his latest "debunking," that of his former lover Nikki Eden. Attending his performance is many who loath him and that includes Nikki and other students of Barney. All share in the belief that the world would be a better place if Shane was dead. One takes the wishes to heart killing Shane. While family troubles explode for Sam and Gabe, Detective Logan Vance follows up on Shane's accusation that Barney arranged the homicide; Sam figures she better prove her grandfather did not commit the homicide; someone else she probably knows rather well possibly did the deed.

Sam has come a long way from NINJA SOCCER MOMS and it shows in this tale as she still errs, but moves on with confidence in her self; she knows what she wants and she goes out to get it. Solving the case of the dead magician proves difficult because the prime suspects besides being friends are expert sleight of the hand illusionists so red herrings abound. This is a fantastic entry as Sam hopes to soon practice under her license not that of her lover.

Harriet Klausner

This is a truly remarkable book of a remarkable woman from a remarkable family. Professor Joan Waugh elegantly displays her passion not only for this woman's history but of her family and the going ons in life. If one would like to read a fascinating bio, this would be one. Thank You Professor Waugh

Dr. Joan Waugh has truly demonstrated her mastery of prose through writing the life of a genuinely fascinating woman. Born into a life of prestige and wealth, the stoic Josephine (Effie) Shaw Lowell lives to challenge both social complacency and the public realms in which women were designated to reign. Well written, to say the least, and thoroughly encompassing of the multi-fascited aspects of 19th c. social America, i highly recommend this book to all those who search for a friend in history.

Waugh uses a biography of Lowell to demonstrate two themes. First, the way that female reformers adopted the language of morality and their Civil War experiences to participate in reform, and second the way that these women adopted organizational models from social science to rationalize charity in New York City. Because nineteenth century ideology restriced women to the home and its environment, female reformers had to convince the public that it was appropriate for them to participate in public debate about reform. They did this by emphasizing the moral aspects of reform movements, suggesting that the female concern for Christian purity and the sanctity of the home and family motivated female participation in reform and made women the best reformers. But reform was often a mess. Different organizations with different goals and different resources duplicated each others' efforts and wasted a great deal of money and time. Lowell saw this problem and worked to solve it by organizing charity organizations into a single, city-wide, group. The result of this effort was job training, child care, improved family assistance, and much better record-keeping.
This book is an important contribution to the history of women in the nineteenth century, and a correction of the common view that charitable organizations simply imposed middle-class ideals onto the helpless poor. It points to the sincere desire of reformers to achieve a better nation, city, and charity organization, and their embrace of the newest tools in that struggle.

John Stott is a model of the biblically grounded, socially engaged preacher. In all his writings, he builds a bridge "between two worlds," as the title of his textbook on preaching puts it: the world of divine revelation and the world of contemporary application. In What Christ Thinks of the Church, Stott once again performs this valuable bridge-building function with the notoriously difficult-to-interpret Revelation of John.

We sometimes forget that Revelation was not written for us, at least not first and foremost. Rather, it was written for seven churches in Roman Asia Minor: Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea. It applies to us by extension because the problems these churches faced are the kind of problems we also face. But we should never try to sever Revelation from its original historical context. The seven letters to the Asian churches that Stott writes about in What Christ Thinks of the Church remind us of the historical groundedness of Revelation as a whole.

In each of these letters, Jesus Christ (portrayed as the "son of man" in Revelation 1), dictates letters to John for communication to the seven churches. The letters includes follow a predictable format: a description of Christ, a commendation of the church, a complaint against the church, and a concluding command. Stott unpacks the historical background and contemporary application to each of these elements. The primary application he derives is seven marks that ought to characterize the church:

1. Love (Ephesus)
2. Suffering (Smyrna)
3. Truth (Pergamum)
4. Holiness (Thyatira)
5. Reality, or authenticity (Sardis)
6. Opportunity, or mission (Philadelphia)
7. Wholeheartedness (Laodicea)

As I read the biblical text in dialogue with Stott's book, several things came to mind. First, Jesus Christ is the Lord of heaven and earth. We have a very definite picture of Jesus Christ from our reading of the Gospels. But the Jesus Christ who appears in Revelation 1 and speaks in chapters 2-3 looks (even "feels") different. It is, of course, the same Jesus Christ. But we should not underestimate the glory in which Jesus Christ now dwells as the resurrected and ascended Son of God. What he speaks are not suggestions but commands; and they are commands that are tied to the future of humanity, so we would be wise to obey them.

Second, the church is a mixture of good and bad. Jesus finds something to commend and correct in the churches. No church is perfect, and no church is beyond redemption. Interestingly, these churches' errors include some big ones: heresy, sexual immorality, religious syncretism. These are very similar to problems we face in the various American churches, where doctrinal error, non-biblical standards of sexual behavior, and accommodation of alien spiritual practices are rife. Interestingly, Jesus still treats these errant churches as his churches.

Third, the church is called upon to repent. We have read many critiques of Christianity and the Christian churches over the past few years, especially from the pens of militant atheists. Our initial response is to defend ourselves. Jesus' letters to the church show that the proper response is repentance. We may not be as bad as the atheists say we are, but we're certainly not as good as Jesus wants us to be. We need to turn around.

There's a lot of talk about "turnaround churches" these days. For pastors such as myself, this often means an upward turnaround in the numbers of people attending, serving in, and giving to our churches. Jesus goes deeper and addresses the spiritual diseases that underlie declining church health, not merely the numerical symptoms showing decline or stagnation. Like an able physician, Stott helps us apply Jesus' diagnosis to the ailments of the contemporary church. His book is warmly recommended.

Dr Stott regains the biblical ground lost to the popular and hyped-up books presented en-masse to unwary Christians in their 'Hollywood'-style appeal.

Looking at the letters to the seven Churches, the biblical teacher, John, reviews the Apostle John's, enscripturation of the Christ's words to him on the Isle of Patmos. Reaching to the present, the 'Revelation' or 'Apocalypse' is the culmination of current world-history, and the re-appearance and long-awaited Second Coming of our Redeemer, Christ Jesus.

There were exhortationary warnings directed towards these Churches, which directly impact on ours. Stott stays true to the text and true to the context throughout.

'If this clear-sighted scrutiny of the hearts and minds of people was a characteristic of the earthly Jesus, how much more must the risen Christ know all human secrets?' pg 73

A well-presented pastoral injuction to the Church in the world not to become the worldly Church.

The number of books written on the final book of the Biblical canon could fill a library. Both fiction and non fiction have considered it from virtually every angle, from conspiracy theories to allegories, it's all been said. Few, however, have taken the book in a coolly logical way that makes it applicable for today and does not scare you into wanting to cut up every form of identification you own to avoid accidentally taking the mark of the beast.

Fortunately, this slim volume is the exception. Mr. Stott, a noted Biblical expositor wastes no words in addressing the beginning of Revelation. Examining each of the churches to whom Christ sent a letter, he gives the history of these places and how they might have viewed the messages, then makes them applicable to problems today.

**** After reading this, you won't know who the Anti-Christ is, nor will you know when the age will end. It is not a countdown to Armegeddon, but sound advice for how to live until then. If you are scared to read Revelation, reading this book will make it a bit easier to conquer that phobia. ****

Reviewed by Amanda Killgore

The book was a gift from my 11-year-old son, now 22, and I just read it yesterday. I should have read it when he was growing up! I loved it, perhaps because as a mom and a woman with a "walker" personality (loved this self-psycho stuff!), I identified so closely. I appreciated the spiritual tone of the book, sprinkled with charming humor and down-to-earth practicality - and now I want more...as if I need more books!

Jeanne Zornes has again written a witty work that gives solid Biblical teaching on developing Christ-like characteristics. Great text for small group studies.

Not exactly what I thought when I got it.Lots of little stories and andecdotes. Very colloquial too. Good for someone recently reborn or that wants to begin leading a better life. If you are beyond that, then you are probably beyond this particular book. Chapters include; Patience?, growing thru annoyances, bearing with adversity and other people, achieving inner peace, love, enduring for the sake of others and eternity , perseverance, and living in hope. All about character building through life's trials. 127 pages

My Bible study group really enjoys the Fisherman studies. We get into God's word and the book offers great discussion points. I highly recommend this book.

The small group truly enjoyed the book study. The questions were interesting and informative. The questions ranged from simple to in-depth.

I had never heard of this book and was expecting something quite different from what was presented...you know black savage being saved and enlightened by her white "betters" what I found was something quite different a black character who is intelligent, thoughtful and able to think for herself, highly recommended

The title piece in this anthology is a parable on the nature of religious belief. When first published in 1932 it caused quite a stir and I wondered whether the intervening 75 years might have rendered it something less of a shocker. I found that, apart from one violation of current political correctness and a few inevitable stylistic issues, the message had lost none of its poignancy and perhaps little of its ability to shock.

The Black Girl in Search of God is not a novel or a novella. It is not really a short story either. I choose to describe it as a parable because others have, but equally it could be classed alongside Plato's symposium as a vehicle for examining a philosophical idea. It's not a discourse, but it could be a meditation, albeit a rather energetic one. The idea in question, of course, is the nature of religious belief.

The Black Girl of the title is only cast as such, I think, to provide Shaw with a literary vehicle to convey his otherwise naïve questions about Christianity. To this end, The Black Girl is presented as a "noble savage", and thus a tabula rasa. It is here - and only here - that Shaw violates current correctness. The character could have been cast as a child, but then she could not have threatened to wield her knobkerrie, her weapon, and nor could she have been portrayed as bringing no tradition of her own. We must accept, therefore, that there remains a functionality about the role of this character. She does not represent anything, except her ability to ask the questions she is required to ask.

The Black Girl has been converted to Christianity by a young British woman who has taken delight in amorously jilting a series of vicars. She then becomes a missionary, despite her clearly thin grasp of the subject matter. She is, perhaps, an allegory of colonial expansion. She goes abroad to teach others despite not having achieved fulfilment or knowledge in her own life. It might be important that the teacher and the taught are both women.

When her convert starts asking questions, fundamental questions that the missionary herself has never heard asked, never mind answered, she reverts to invention, not scholarship. Shaw's intention is clear. She invents myth to mystify myth. And this cloak satisfies the curiosity of the average Christian, but not The Black Girl, who thus goes off in search of God.

And, guided by snakes, she finds Him. And not just once, because there is more than one God in the Bible she carries. There is the God of Wrath, who demands the sacrifice of her child. When she cannot comply, He demands she find her father so he can sacrifice her. A good part of the Bible thus disappears from her new-found faith.

She meets an apparent God of Love, but he laughs at Job for being so naively and blindly devout. More of her book blows away.

She meets prophets who, one by one, deliver their different messages, most of which conflict and communicate individual political positions or bigotry rather than personal revelation.

On the way she belittles Imperial power and male domination. She learns that most "civilised" countries have given up on God and hears a plea that people like her should not be taught things that the mother country no longer believes.

Scientists offer her equally conflicting opinions. They are careful only to describe, never to conclude or interpret. In a way, they are just modern prophets, each with their own interested positions.

There is an amazing episode where a mathematician implores her to consider complex numbers, the square root of minus x, which The Black Girl hears as Myna sex or perhaps its homophone minor sex, and is clearly a reference to feminism. Along with economic power and male dominance, The Black Girl sees guns as the highest achievement of white society. This anticipates the description of colonialism's trinity in Ngugi's Petals of Blood.

Then, in a strange section, an Arab discusses belief with a conjuror. These appear to be a pair of major prophets in thin disguise. But their discussions merely confuse the girl and their words skirt her questions.

And so she meets an Irishman, marries and settles down. She devotes herself to him, their coffee-coloured children and the fruits of their garden. Note that she does not devote herself to herself. She projects out, does not analyse within. And in this utterly humanist universe she finds not only personal happiness, but also fulfilment and, with that, answers to her own metaphysical questions that religion per se could not even address.

And so, as the parable closes, we ponder whether the Irishman she marries is Shaw, and whether The Black Girl is the questioning, non-racist, non-sexist, socialist and humanist vision of the future he has personally espoused.

And as for the Lesser Tales, they are generally lesser. Don Giovanni explaining himself was fun and the Death of an Old Revolutionary Hero was prescient of the role of the Socialist Workers' Party adopted in maintaining Margaret Thatcher in power in the 1980s. A great, historical and fundamentally contemporary read.

On August 22, 1851, the yacht America sailed across the finish line of England's Royal Yacht Squadron 53-mile regatta around the Isle of Wight. And as they say, "the rest is history." The seemingly impossible race to win was one that captured America's and the worlds attention. David Shaw's places you in the board room of the New York Yacht Club, in the ship yard of designer George Steer, and in the cockpit with Capt. Richard Brown and First Mate Nelson Comstock. As America leaves New York on a foggy June 21, 1851 morning, you are riveted to keep turning the pages until she arrives safely in Le Havre, France.

Two items which I found most intriguing was the research Shaw presented that questions the time between America and the second place Aurora. Shaw argues that the time should be eight minutes and not the 21 or 24 minutes used by contemporary sources.

"I [Shaw] took my facts from The Times of London, which historians credit as the most accurate account of the race. The Times reported that Aurora finished eight minutes after America."

Shaw also argues the name of the trophy, One Hundred Guinea Cup, should be more appropriately the One Hundred Sovereign Cup. One hundred pounds was the typical value of cups given to winners at the time, not one hundred guineas. The British have always called it the One Hundred Sovereign Cup and it is a mystery why the other name has stuck.

The extensive research Shaw did is profound. There are several appendixes, a glossary of nautical terms (for those of us who are confused by jibe and tack), and a bibliography of books, periodicals, and web sources, all of which will continue to wet anyones appetite for more. I highly recommend David Shaw's book.

Shaw has done it again! David captures the personalities of the men who designed, built and raced America. This isn't a story about the most famous Yacht race the United States ever participated in, it's a story about the human spirit, and nerves men had years ago to cross oceans and take on all comers. you think the race started in England, think again. As pilot captains these men knew how to race to earn a living; it was their way of life. Read no more of this review. Purchase the book and read a fascinating account of what became the greates sailing race of all time. You'll be surprised where America ultimately met her fate.

In 2003 I got this book and enhanced my English 30% right after I read it.
this time I got it to my wife who really love it so much.
I recommend any beginner student to have it.

I purchased this book for my Korean friend. He found it very useful. At first it looks very basic as there are alot of pictures but it has alot of good exercises. He has learned alot from it and is eager to move onto the next book.

I would reccommend this book to anyone who hasn't been to language school and wants to learn English at home.

Good value as well at $19.80

Examples of usage for 1200 of the most common English vocabulary. Each chapter is two pages, one page for explanations and examples, another for exercises. Most sentences are simple. A sentence is offered for each usage of the same word. Illustrations are tiny, but numerous and easy to understand. Simple design, easy to use. Excellent for beginners. - ESL Book Review

I was happy to find out that Rich Man, Poor Man, which immediately became one of my favorite books after I finished it, had a sequel. Being a sequel, it definitely didn't live up to Rich Man, Poor Man, but I considered it an excellent follow up. It was cool to see all the characters from the original and the book had a lot of events in it, as did the last one, which is what I love about them. I wasn't at all disappointed and this is probably my favorite series of books.

Not as good as Rich Man, Poor Man but a good sequel nonetheless. I ended RM, PM wondering more about the characters (a sign of a good book to me I might add) and was delighted to read B,T. Definitely need to read them both to feel satisfied.

I was very pleased with the quick delivery of the product as well as the excellent condition the book was in. Thank you very much and I would definitely use this company (or person) again!

The book was in great condition, except that it was missing 20 pages. They weren't torn out, I think that they just were never put in. Hence, the 4 star rating instead of 5! The book also arrived within 4 days-very timely!