Sheridan Reviews

Killer Tomatoes: Fifteen Tough Film Dames

Published in Paperback by McFarland & Company (2004-09)

Authors: Ray Hagen and Laura Wagner

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PURE PLEASURE...THESE TOMATOES!!

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-09-21

This book is pure pleasure--it is a pleasure to read about some of the most neglected talents, i.e., Ann Dvorak, Jean Hagen, Mercedes McCambridge, as well as some who have rated more print like Claire Trevor and Gloria Grahame--two of the best noir ladies of the movies. Ida Lupino, Ann Sheridan and Lucille Ball were all top stars of the forties and fifties, but not that much has been written about Sheridan and Lupino. All of the stories were well written and some were most revealing.

May I suggest to these two writers that they maybe think about a second volumn. Many terrific ladies were left out. Beautiful Lizabeth Scott has had so little written about her--she was a top tomato, as well as the other sensational noir lady, Audrey Totter. She was a tough cookie in so many great forties and fifties films.

To add to the list there are June Havoc, Jan Sterling, Glenda Farrell, Marie MacDonald, Jane Greer, Alexis Smith, Vivian Blaine and not to be forgotten--Iris Adrian and Veda Ann Borg (two of the best of the character ladies), Yvonne DeCarlo, the gorgeous sand and sea lady who also tangled with the likes of Burt Lancaster, Clark Gable, Howard Duff among others--and the two most beautiful tomatoes Gene Tierney and Ava Gardner. Tierney was tops in Leave Her To Heaven, gorgeous as Laura, and wonderous in The Razors Edge. She was sexy and smokey in Shanghai Gesture and the list goes on.

Ava Gardner was a real killer tomato opposite Burt Lancaster in The Killers. They sizzled!! She sizzled in almost every film she made after that torrid forties movie.

I would recommend this book to anyone who wants a good ride getting into the lives of a number of very appealing ladies who all made their mark in films (and TV). And we can only hope that maybe someday there will be a sequel!!

Costly Tomatoes

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2007-03-08

This is an excellent book on the tough women character actors of the 1940s through 1970s. It's an interesting book to read and the illustrations are good, but I don't see paying $35 for a paperback book like this. I would not do that again, although I understand that small publishing companies have to make a profit.

Just not worth it

Helpful Votes: 3 out of 14 total.
Review Date: 2006-01-10

There seems to be a lot of differing opinions here but I have to agree with the all the reviewers below who said it was boring and not worth the price. It is a flimsy paperback with poor quality photos. I know McFarland is a tiny publishing house but when you spend almost $40 you expect a little more.

Good choice for black-and-white movie buffs

Helpful Votes: 4 out of 4 total.
Review Date: 2006-05-02

A quick and enjoyable read, this book provides brief essays on 15 actresses who enjoyed varying degrees of success and fame in Hollywood. The authors' affection for their subjects comes through clearly, and readers will be tempted to seek out the movies described.

Excellent

Helpful Votes: 5 out of 5 total.
Review Date: 2006-03-03

In the style of James Robert Parish, this volume provides interesting essays on 15 stars. A few, like Barbara Stanwyck, have been subjects of other volumes but others like Ann Dvorak and Marie Windsor are much rarer subjects.

Each essay combines details of each star's career with their personal life in reasonable detail for the level at which the volume is pitched. The personality of every lady is evident. There are some great photos too. Some of the ladies were still alive when the volume was published so the book benefits from direct quotes whenever possible. The gem is the transcript of a lengthy interview with Ann Sheridan.

Of its type, this book is as good as any others.

Savvy in the City: New York City: A "See Jane Go" Guide to City Living

Published in Paperback by St. Martin's Griffin (2001-12-14)

Authors: Jayne Young and Sheridan Becker

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more garbage...

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-08-31

dated and these authors never did an update....things change and they just move on to the next city...good reason it is now out of print...savvy in this case means ripping you off

I want to be Carrie/Charlotte in Manhattan!

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 5 total.
Review Date: 2006-05-12

This book will make you declare which Sex and the City character YOU want to be! Forget man hunting in Manhattan ... take on New York on your OWN TERMS! Single and Free without baggage (except a carry-on NOT a kid) is the way to travel in and out of the Bright Lights of the Big City that only is New York. Take a bite out of the Big Apple today! If you can make it there you can make it anywhere - it's up to you New York New York!

Pretty Good.

Helpful Votes: 2 out of 4 total.
Review Date: 2005-09-01

The book is great for the most part. I loved that it had maps in the first few pages and it had some reccomendations I had not seen in other New York books. However, it did not mention as to whether it was cheap, middle of the road or expensive.

Fun but...

Helpful Votes: 5 out of 5 total.
Review Date: 2006-06-17

This book, designed for the large-living single woman, is full of light, sisterly descriptions of some of the most indulgent spots in New York. They are lots of fun to read and provoke wild imaginings of frozen hot chocolate and long massages and all the many (expensive) pleasures of this wonderful city. The listings are also useful if you live in the city or are planning a visit--some of the places mentioned are truly great, often underappreciated spots. Each section contains "Not to Miss", a list of the runners-up, also great. And after some listings the authors write "Psst..." and give an insider tip.

The problems are as follows: this book is very clearly written for women in a specific, Sex and the Cityesque niche. Though people outside this niche can certainly benefit from the suggestions, they will find the language (which doesn't go a page without mentioning weight management or how to get your boyfriend to propose) perhaps less amusing. It's also poorly edited, with some spelling and grammatical issues and not-always-excellent writing. Some reviews are too short and say nothing useful (one review for Me Kong, a restaurant, reads, "Innovative yet simple Vietnamese in disappointing portions but at satisfying prices. Probably not chic enough for the terrain, but enjoyable all the same"). There is also the problem, as another reader mentioned, of the organization. The scatterbrained quality makes this book useful only as an idea bank for when fancy strikes, and not as a resource for looking up things you actually need. I worry that this book is not exhaustive, either--where, for instance, is H&H, widely-accepted home of the best bagel in New York? It seems that by reading New York magazine you could get, for a lower cost (or free online), the same sort of reviews as are in this book.

But if you can deal with these things and still want a cute, witty, stylish guide to New York, this book is a good option. Most of all it's fun to read and will provide you with hours of dreamy pleasure. And it would make a great gift!

Good ideas, but...

Helpful Votes: 6 out of 7 total.
Review Date: 2005-04-26

Although I loved this guide and read through it a couple of times, many of the places mentioned were actually closed. On a recent trip to the city, 4 out of the 5 places we tried to find to eat were non existant. I wish they would come out with a new edition, and if they do, I would purchase it.

Just make sure you call ahead if you plan on going anywhere mentioned in this book, to make sure it still exists and hasn't relocated.

Death at Epsom Downs

Published in Hardcover by Berkley Hardcover (2001-03)

Author: Robin Paige

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You can't miss with "Robin Paige".

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-06-22

Death at Whitechapel (Robin Paige Victorian Mysteries, No. 6)Death at Gallows Green (Victorian Mysteries, No. 2)
There are 13 in all, so far as I know. Reading them in order is a good idea because the author(s) have done excellent research for what I believe to be mostly Victorian and into the Edwardian times in the UK, mainly England. As new, to the period; products/inventions, fashions, popular beliefs, etc., come to the fore. They will be mentioned, at the least. Our husband and wife heroes' relationship progresses as well. For those who enjoy the "Brit" detective stories, there are ample plots and interesting characters; most are fictional, while some are real and had their place in history. Generally light, but very enjoyable, "Death at Whitechapel" relates a disturbing "bit of gossip", that may, indeed, be more real than many would like to believe.
The books are highly descriptive, painting many a day, or place, that will fill the senses to the brim with "real" experiences.
If there is a negative aspect to these delightful excursions to the moors, the seaside, village life, the gritty, or posh side of London; it is the fear that the husband and wife team who are "author" may grow weary of telling new ones. Bravo(a) to Susan and Bill, my neighboring Texans. Please continue!

Love this author

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2005-09-07

I really love the way this author weaves mystery and real characters. Although this was not my favorite installment in this series, it did interest me in purchasing a book on the real life character, Lillie Langtry.

One of their best

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2005-03-12

Supplementing the other reviews, this one is notable for its thorough research into the horse racing scene during the Victorian era. The whole series is highly recommended.

A Horse is a Horse of Course of Course

Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2005-06-21

As this series has now reached it's sixth installment the personalities and backgrounds of the major characters have been set and explained in previous books. To jump in with this book will leave the reader somewhat lost as to what is going on and I would highly recommend that this series be started from the beginning. Some of these light mystery series' allow the reader the luxury of jumping on board at just any stop but that is not the case here. I think that you will find this book enjoyable even if you haven't read the previous books, but you will enjoy it much more if you start at the beginning.

One of the most noticeable traits of this series is the use of real historical characters in the stories. His Royal Highness, the Prince of Wales heavily influences this story, like at least two before it. The story seems to revolve however, around the actress Lillie Langtry. A mediocre actress, Ms. Langtry would probably have never have been remembered by history if not for her dalliances with the above mentioned Prince. Although being the one true love of Judge Roy Bean, the "Only Law West of the Pecos" might have kept her name alive also. Judge Bean by the way, never met Langtry but he named his saloon after her.

Langtry is a rather despicable character whom Kate visits while Charles is called on to solve a problem for the Jockey Club, which counts the Prince as one of it's members. The club is desperate to solve it's little problem without any publicity, especially after one of the area's leading bookies is murdered. It all seems to relate to the practice of doping horses before races which completely alters the odds and is costing the bookies a fortune. As is normal, Charles begins to find clues almost immediately and with the help of his sleuthing wife they are able to name the killer in short order. It is refreshing that in this case Kate's personal maid Amelia turns out to be quite the detective herself. In the end, the Prince steps in and Kate, not quite yet understanding English ways is unhappy with the result, at least until she sees royal justice in action.

This is another fine entry in the "Victorian Mystery" series and the horse racing background is fascinating. Like I mentioned earlier, the characters may seem flat or confusing if this is the first book in the series that you have read but the story is so engaging and the writing so polished that I think that most people would enjoy this story anyway. So grab a parasol, pick a horse and let's enjoy the races at Epsom Downs.

Fluffy but cute

Helpful Votes: 2 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2003-05-11

I admit I do enjoy this series, but it is strictly a "fun" read. I agree with the other reviewers that the author(s) really make a royal hash of the British titles, alternately referring to the same character as Lord "surname" and then as Lord "first name" - yet the same person would NEVER go by both of those. Charles, as a peer, would never EVER be referred to a Lord Charles, and it would be terribly gauche to do so. A prince is never Your Majesty.

These are pretty simple things that even an American like me can figure out and understand, yet the author(s) screw this up every time in book after book.

However if I just grit my teeth and bear it the rest of the book is funny and informative, a "light" read, so I guess I cannot expect too much accuracy. But fun. Brain candy.

The Jaws of Death: Shark As Predator Man As Prey

Published in Paperback by Sheridan House (1994-01)

Author: Xavier Maniguet

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Average review score:

Shark-tastic

Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2007-12-19

I have been interested in sharks ever since the first time I saw Jaws The Jaws of Death is an illuminating glimpse into everything shark-related. It has fascinating facts on attacks and types of sharks, beautiful drawings and pictures, and all the information you would want to know about these amazing creatures. s

A Must Read

Helpful Votes: 10 out of 10 total.
Review Date: 2001-07-23

This book is one of the best I've been able to find on sharks, and I could not put it down! I must have read it over three times already just to remember all the information it contains!

It has detailed pictures and information on shark anatomy, favored myths about sharks, factual accounts of shark attacks, some information on other animals such as crocs and killer whales, and xavier puts forth several facts and theories about shark behavior. In the back it also contains an encyclopedia of sharks.

This is not a book for those with weak stomachs, since the pictures are very graphic of those attacked by sharks, even though most of which were only 'investigative bites'(and people get struck by lightning more often than attacked by sharks).

Since it was originally copyrighten in 1991, there are one or two new shark facts that are missing in this book(as opposed to the many facts that are usually missing in other shark books), but this is still the best for its time, and one of the best informative books for the present.

I would suggest this book for anyone deeply interested in sharks. It answers alot of questions and asks many other thought-provoking ones, keeping the reader hooked from cover to cover.

The jaws which held the readers captive.

Helpful Votes: 2 out of 3 total.
Review Date: 2001-06-21

Although known as the swimming death of the seas Xavier Maniguet ties to explain the truth about sharks. He also tries to close a gap between this perfect fitted animal and its status of a killer-machine. Especially by facing the reader with some horrifying photographs of human shark-attack victims. But the book also shows in a scientific and breathtaking way the other strange side of these misunderstood animals and let sharks not look like a man-eating machine but also as an important member in our ecosystem. For those who are really interested in sharks this paper is a MUST! And for me who faced a real Great White once in South Africa it is even more than that.

Great book

Helpful Votes: 3 out of 4 total.
Review Date: 2002-12-25

Maniguet covers just about every aspect of sharks, and from a perspective of human contact. One long chapter covers shark attacks on humans, while the rest of the book covers anatomy, behaviour, and human interface, with some attacks interspersed. The book is technical in parts, but not too much so. I was looking for a factual book on sharks and shark attacks, not sensational but not boring, and this was perfect.

One word: Captivating

Helpful Votes: 4 out of 4 total.
Review Date: 2004-03-02

The Jaws of Death was an amazing book. For all the techincal information on the animal's biology, I found it to be an easy read. Although, I'm probably bias, because I've always found sharks to be interesting.

Maniguet gives countless examples of shark attacks, and then explains why the shark might have attacked. It's a nice insight into their thinking. Numerous diagrams of the shark's anatomy help with explaining the complex sensory organs. They are absoluting incredible!

This is a great book for anyone who is really intrigued by these beautiful animals. Even if you don't find them to be the most amazing creatures, you will after flipping through this book.

My ears are bent,

Published in Unknown Binding by Sheridan House (1938)

Author: Joseph Mitchell

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A great observer of people

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-09-17

Drunks, cheesecake, Jesus, sports, work, poverty--these topics were the early obsessions of one of the best feature writers to walk the streets of New York City.

After eleven years as a reporter for three New York newspapers, Joseph Mitchell shifted to The New Yorker. He once called his early newspaper writing "a different kind of writing," but even if the articles collected in My Ears Are Bent serve as records of his apprenticeship, they still are an impressive and interesting set of feature stories.

All of these articles were written between 1929 and 1938, but the characteristics of Mitchell's later writing--painstaking attention to facts and visual details, immersion reporting/observation, humor, and a compassionate liking for the oddballs, the poor, and the fringe radicals--are all present.

Mitchell enjoyed moving past New York's businessmen and politicians and showing his readers some characters from the vast array of humanity that always populates a great city.

He let his interview subjects talk, while he listened. One scene in which he encounters a young woman with an idea for a "reverse striptease" is vintage Mitchell: "`Now look,' she said, unnecessarily. `This is the way I start my act.'" The word unnecessarily is an example of how he could blend dry humor and efficiency in ways that few writers are disciplined enough to manage.

The Chicago Tribune's Christopher Borrelli reminds us that Mitchell's interviews are "not verbatim--of course . . . Mitchell was a reporter before tape recorders. But it's not fiction either." Mitchell's genius as a reporter was his ability to find interesting people that his readers almost certainly never would meet and to share with us detailed portraits that forced our recognition of our common humanity. Borrelli calls Mitchell "the reporter's reporter, the finest The New Yorker ever produced (then and now, and possibly forever)."

Readers of contemporary journalism, New Journalism, and creative nonfiction will enjoy many of the articles in this book, and in fact, My Ears Are Bent is a reminder of just how old many tactics of good writing really are.

Armchair Interviews says: This book is well worth your time.

Mighty Oaks From (Not So) Little Acorns Grow

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-07-14

That the pieces in this collection are actually juvenilia is astounding; Mitchell wrote these essays while in his twenties and working as a reporter for the respective New York dailies the Herald Tribune and World. Many of the themes that the great man would hone and develop for Ross's New Yorker are here, in nascent form. Dick's Bar, which he would later bemoan as a casualty of repeal and the bar fixture industry (seriously) is still in it's full glory -- that eminent editor of the "greatest afternoon newspaper in the United States" imitating a tree frog. Interestingly, Mitchell as he appears in these pages drinks "nothing stronger than Moxie." Frequent quoting of interesting, slightly disreputable characters is here as well. New Yorkers that miss the eccentric oddballs that used to be a staple of their city need look no further than this volume to recapture a sense of them.

I would, however, advise those who aren't familiar with his material in "Up at The Old Hotel," to read those articles first, but if you are a fan you will find nothing to disappoint. Some probably remember Jimmy Breslin's accusation of racial prejudice against Mitchell when this collection came out, so I braced myself for out-dated and ugly stereotypes; although there is some of the former Mitchell certainly doesn't come off as a racist. I suspect Breslin had his own doubts at subjecting a 1930's reporter (he never styled himself as a sociologist or opinion writer) to Millennial revisionism. And that Mitchell was just, after all, a journalist is the most impressive thing about his writing.

My Ears Are Bent -- A Little

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2006-11-10

I enjoyed this collection of Mitchell articles, but it is really something that I think is for his hardcore fans. Readers will notice that some of the material -- in some cases, almost word for word -- became more polished articles later that appeared in his better known "Up in the Old Hotel" collection, and others in "Bent" simply aren't as lyrical, as you would expect since he was writing for newspapers and not, as later, The New Yorker.

My Ears Are Bent

Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2005-07-28

Joseph Mitchell's newspaper writing is Mitchell at his best; young, fresh and delightful. He tells in 1500 or so words booklength stories made all the more powerful by the brevity.
A text book on writing and reporting.

A LOST TIME AND PLACE RECAPTURED

Helpful Votes: 3 out of 3 total.
Review Date: 2008-07-16

My Ears Are Bent first published in 1938 is quintessential Joseph Mitchell, and that's saying quite a bit as many would call him the best writer to ever work at the New Yorker. The pieces included in this volume were written prior to his tenure at the New Yorker, years he worked as a writer for The World, The Herald Tribune, and The World-Telegram. His beat, his love, his passion was New York City, and for that we are the beneficiaries as he captured what is now a lost time and place with humor, grace, and piercing reportorial eye. His words mirror sights, sounds, emotions and, yes, even smells and tastes.

One is tempted to say that he knew and interviewed people from all walks of life, but it is more accurate to say that many of his subjects were from the periphery of life. There is Miss Mazie, a flamboyant blonde former burlesque dancer with a heart of gold who owns a small movie theater in the Bowery. She sits in a tiny ticket booth each night with her small dog in her lap. It never bothers her that "Sometimes a bum goes in there at 10 o'clock in the morning, and at midnight he is still there, sleeping in his seat, snoring as if he owns the joint." After all, Miss Mazie reasons everyone needs a place to sleep. She never turns down a panhandler, has never met a man good enough to marry, and dreams of becoming a nun. However, as she says, "I am practically a nun now. The only difference between me and a nun is that I smoke, drink booze, and talk rough."

Mitchell describes the most interesting athlete he ever interviewed, a second-rate ball player who later became known as Billy Sunday, a memorable Christian evangelist; he chats with a very young Gene Krupa, and a 60-year-old George M. Cohan. Not one to be attracted only to the famous he pens unforgettable lines about an 81-year-old woman just arrived from Ischia. She's taken aback by the city but feels quite at home once she is in her son's grocery story among the scent of olive oil and chunky Parma hams.

Each of the articles and short stories in this collection is filled with wit, empathy, and understanding. Mitchell is one of a kind and so are the people of whom he wrote.

Highly recommended.

- Gail Cooke

Phil Sheridan and His Army

Published in Hardcover by University of Nebraska Press (1985-03-01)

Author: Paul Andrew Hutton

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Average review score:

Hmmmm

Helpful Votes: 2 out of 19 total.
Review Date: 2006-06-03

Phil Sheridan was a sociopath who wanted to murder the battered remnants of Lee's army just before the surrender. His bloodlust was later satisfied when he was turned loose on the American Indian. Pure genocide. I'm not sure we have ever produced uglier little man in our 400 years in this hemisphere.

ANOTHER BOILER PLATE EFFORT

Helpful Votes: 3 out of 13 total.
Review Date: 2004-03-10

I have been reading about the Civil War and Indian Fighting Generals for over half a century. There is absolutely nothing new here. Any bright High School kid could have written this book in a good library.

In addituion to this criticism, I find a combined error and omission that is typical of academic authors who try to write about everything and everybody. This author states that General Sheridan never got to the scene of the 1876 Indian War. On the contrary read Willert as to exactly where and when he did. Furthermore, related to this is the fact that Sheridan arrived belately because of the riots in New Orleans that took him there. Hutton missed this and its significance, which could have lent the added ingredient to his work that would have made it significant. Sheridan in the earlier Indian War on the Southern Plains cooped up the reservation Indians so they couldn't join the hostiles in the field. He would undoubtedly have done the same (in time - he did it belatedly at War Bonnet Creek) and prevented one of the key elements of Custer's disaster (i.e. too damned many Indians).

Big reputations are made on this sort of actually superficial copying, partly because of an old boy netword, one suspects. The victims are fundamentally ignorant readers. There is little that can be done about this before the fact, which is what reviews are for.

Great bio of "Little Phil"

Helpful Votes: 4 out of 5 total.
Review Date: 2006-01-22

No. 3 in the postwar Union Army pantheon after Grant and Sherman, Sheridan gets an in-depth review here.

The man who said, "The only good Indians I ever saw were dead ones" would become Commander in Chief of the Army during the height of the western Indian wars. Read this book for further insight about his attitude toward Indians, as well as earlier post-Civil War service as a Reconstruction department commander in New Orleans.

Great Indian Wars Book

Helpful Votes: 4 out of 5 total.
Review Date: 2005-07-20

This book is detailed and well researched. It covers Sheridan's entire career and and is not boring or over detailed. If you like to read about Indian Wars on the Great Plains, this book will please your quest for good reading.

Well told story - beware of the March 10 review

Helpful Votes: 4 out of 5 total.
Review Date: 2005-05-16

I read this book several years ago and have nothing but fond memories. I recall it being informative and well-told, altogether an easy read.

As for the claim in another review that has Hutton making an erroneous statement that Sheridan never visited Custer Battlefield, just take a look at pages 328-329 and then eat your words. Also, the New Orleans riot was 1866 (July 30th based on the information I found on the Internet), so your inference here was also incorrect.

Anyway, I can unhesitatingly recommend this book.

Timeless Wish

Published in Paperback by Cerridwen Press (2007-10-01)

Author: Barbara Sheridan

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Sensuous and interesting time travel

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2005-04-16

The time travel was handled so well in this story. Laura kept fading in and out of 1998 to the year 1898 at very dramatic times after a wish upon a star. Both hero and heroine were tormented souls who found each other despite being born a century apart. I liked how Corby did not believe Laura immediately when she spoke about 1998. It took him a long time to trust Laura and made their love all the more precious. Corby's relatives, both during 1898 and the ones Laura knew in 1998 were out of the ordinary. Corby was shown as very human and even had a side one couldn't like very well. Laura too had her own foibles. The path of love is not easy. You will cheer for a happy ending and will not be disappointed. The sexual tension was wonderful and the love scenes were sensuous. If you are a time travel fan, you will love this one.

Timeless Wish

Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2008-07-30

In present day New York, Interior Designer Laura Bennett agrees to go to Oklahoma and help her friends Galen and Jake Hillhouse redesign their ancestral home.

Laura examines a photograph album of Galen's that contains a picture of Sheriff Corby Hillhouse, who lived in the late 1800s. She is instantly intrigued by the man, although she can't say why.

Corby Hillhouse has had a hard life. His first wife died, and he believes he could've prevented it. Then his second wife died in childbirth. On New Year's Eve in 1898 he wishes for a woman that his "love won't kill."

The next day he finds Laura passed out in the field. Laura doesn't know why, or how, she's been transported back to 1898. But she does know that she is falling in love with Corby, and with his young daughter, Sabrina.

Laura takes a job as housekeeper/nanny for Corby and the two of them go through a series of misunderstandings on their way to a relationship. They also have to fight off the father of Corby's first wife, who thinks Corby is responsible for his daughter's death.

Timeless Wish by Barbara Sheridan is a wonderfully touching love story that transcends time. I had hours of fun watching Laura and Corby as they worked to discover their feelings for each other. And I loved watching Laura, who had problems in her own past, help Corby get over his demons.

The supporting characters in this book are also fascinating, including a former female reporter who rode over the plains in search of news.

Readers who enjoy time travel will love Timeless Wish.

Amelia
reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed

Timeless Wish

Helpful Votes: 1 out of 3 total.
Review Date: 2000-09-26

The story held my interest but I was dissapointed that there weren't more references to the future. It always makes me laugh when the people can't figure out how to do things. It seemed that Laura already knew how to do everything and being 100 years in the past was no sweat. That wasn't real believable.

this book left alot to be desired.

Helpful Votes: 4 out of 8 total.
Review Date: 2000-12-14

i like a book that goes back in time. everytime she bumped her head, she switched centuries. it got really annoying because everytime it got interested, she switched centuries!! i really didn't like it.

Too light for me.

Helpful Votes: 8 out of 11 total.
Review Date: 1999-10-28

I love time travel romances so I bought the book after reading the great reviews but I thought it had a slow and simple beginning which read like an Americana romance and not a time travel. I wasn't caught up in their story. Maybe there should have been more character development so I would have kept reading.

Celestial Navigation in a Nutshell (Seafarer Books)

Published in Paperback by Sheridan House (2000-07-15)

Author: Hewitt Schlereth

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Average review score:

Celestial Navigation

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-04-05

The book was a gift for a new Eagle Scout. He was quite pleased.

The Beginners Delight

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2006-08-25

Celestial Navigation in a Nutshell is an excellent starter for just about anyone wanting or needing to navigate using celestial references. It is exactly what you need prior to using The Complete On-Board Celestial Navigator : Includes 2003-2007 Nautical Almanac. It is logically laid out and provides practical exercises which will facilitate developing basic skills. Highly recommend.

couldn't grasp

Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2007-12-10

I couldn't grasp this, math and visualization is hard for me. I guess I was hoping for a book that helps you know where you are, and how to get somewhere else without a gps. After reading the book, I still don't know if you can use a sextant to find your latitude and longitude, why would I care about the G.P. if I want to find Greenland? He states there is a long mathamatical formula for finding the distance between 2 points on the earth, after reading about G.P's, DR's,LOP's I wished he would have talked about it instead. the story about Eratosthenes was great, that was about all I got out of the book.

Why celestial navigation?

Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2007-09-04

With modern GPS navigation now omnipresent, why would anyone want to use celestial navigation? Because it's fun, it teaches some valuable lessons about how celestial bodies can show where you are on the earth's surface, and it could be a useful backup in case of loss of GPS due to dead batteries or loss of satellites. This book teaches the subject in easy to understand language, and with just the right amount of humor. All you need is a sextant (which can be obtained, used, for less than $100) and a nuatical almanac. Since this book was published some free computer programs have become available that will let you enter the time and the sextant reading and produce an LOP (line of position) eliminating the need for the almanac. You can practice taking sun shots at home on land, even if you can't see the horizon. In a few hours you can become pretty good at it.

Examples clearly explained

Helpful Votes: 12 out of 13 total.
Review Date: 2003-08-25

Hewitt Schlereth wrote this book to explain the use of the HO249 tables to fix one's position on the earth using the known positions of the sun, moon, planets, and distant stars. I would also recommend reading this book if you intend to use another method of sight reduction, such as George G. Bennett's "The Complete On-Board Celestial Navigator" (ISBN: 0071396578). Schlereth gives a good introduction to the celestial bodies used for navigation and how to use them.

Schlereth's examples show the relevant tables, highlighting the values used. He makes it clear how to enter the tables correctly every time, and gives a few tips on how to avoid transcription errors when "taking out" the numbers you need.

He begins the book with a little trigonometric fiction -- that we are interested in the angles between the sun, the "position" of the sun on the surface of the earth, and the observer. Of course, this is a bit of nonsense, as another reviewer, Nathaniel Meyers, has pointed out. Schlereth corrects himself in a later chapter, and I think he could have better begun with the story of how the famous Greek philosopher calculated the circumference of the earth thousands of years ago.

The eager student should work through the examples thouroughly. Be on the lookout for the error in transcribing one of the sights in the example of the approach to San Salvador -- the first fully-plotted example.

This book is a good introduction to celestial navigation -- a useful place to start before going on to more advanced sources of information.

How to Design a Boat

Published in Paperback by Sheridan House (1998-04)

Author: John Teale

List price: $17.95

Used price: $6.69

Average review score:

Book

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 14 total.
Review Date: 2007-01-03

Was a gift not sure if it's liked and i particulary don't care if he likes it cause if do not like him.

How to Design a Boat

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2006-08-14

Good, but scanty in detail. Gives you an adequate overview of the subject but lacks sufficient detail to be of much practical use.

I read it again and again

Helpful Votes: 12 out of 12 total.
Review Date: 2005-05-21

I have accumulated a lot of boat books over the years, mainly on building and design. I really love this book. Mr Teale gives you a concise course on how to design a conventional boat. He doesn't try to turn you into a naval engineer in this little book, he just gives you enough info with no guff and not too much jargon.

What this book will let you do is understand the desisions taken by designers, understand what people are saying when they talk about boat technicalities, and if you want to it'll show you how to design a conventional yacht or motor boat.

If I have one complaint I'd have liked a bit more on multihulls, which are my particular interest.

The book is small, and cheap. I'm an engineer and I have struggled with the bulk information in some of the more comprehensive books. This one isn't as detailed but it has the important stuff and I'd say most people could follow it.

Really good!

How to Design a Boat

Helpful Votes: 4 out of 4 total.
Review Date: 2005-07-05

Excellent step by step technical approach - with a good practical balance to the engineering issues.

Being a complete novice I would like to see a visual of the hull with all features named to ease reference.

I look forward to another read!

Black-and-white sketches and diagrams illustrate points

Helpful Votes: 4 out of 4 total.
Review Date: 2003-11-17

Now in its third edition, How To Design A Boat is a straightforward guide written by John Teale, a professional designer of cruising yachts, fast powerboats, motor cruisers, and commercial craft. Black-and-white sketches and diagrams illustrate points in this technical and engineering resource delineating necessary measurements, mathematics, and theory required to create a seaworthy craft. How To Design A Boat is an important asset to any personal or professional Nautical Library reference collection.

The Marine Electrical and Electronics Bible

Published in Hardcover by Sheridan House (2007-04-13)

Author: John C. Payne

List price: $55.00

New price: $37.09
Used price: $39.55

Average review score:

marine electrical and electronic bible payne

Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2007-05-16

Must have for all boaters and workers in the industry.

Not for powerboaters

Helpful Votes: 12 out of 14 total.
Review Date: 2002-08-23

It was very hard to tell from the description or the reviews that the book is almost exclusively designed for the wind-borne sailor. For example there is very little on multiple alternator charging systems and all pictures of boats are of sailboats.
As a result I have a brand new copy for sale.

Very Useful

Helpful Votes: 4 out of 5 total.
Review Date: 2004-11-09

10 years ago I used this book to engineer and install the electrical system on an old 60's vintage sailboat. Since then, the boat has been sailed extensively and the system has performed flawlessly. The information on batteries, energy management, and charging is invaluable.

I work in a boatyard, and can honestly say that because of this book there are not many boats that are wired as well as mine.

Good Book not Perfect

Helpful Votes: 4 out of 5 total.
Review Date: 2003-04-05

It took me a bit to get used to the format of the book, its all outline style, point 1, 1a 1b etc. I did catch some mistakes in some tables... it seemed that wiring sizes in one table were different than another table. I wish some areas had more detailed infomration. But there is a LOT of information here, and he covers every category I can think of. I am currently in the process of rewiring my DC and it is very helpful. I use it in conjunction with Nigel Calder's book, and each has good info. Over all I prefer Calder, but like having both.

The Marine Electrical and Electronics Bible

Helpful Votes: 4 out of 8 total.
Review Date: 2002-01-29

This book gives an overabundance of information about the electrical and electonic system aboard a boat. Some of the diagrams are not accurate i.e. the thing the author is trying to explain will not work if you construct it the way he is suggesting you should.

Sheridan Books