Sheridan Books

I bought one of these Sail Improvement Project Books. I wanted to tell you how GOOD this book is. I'm an engineer and a sailor and I love to work on boats and read about them. This is one of those RARE books that comes along now and again that really adds value. I'm serious, this is well written. I've cruised smaller sailboats (28-28 footers) for a decade now and every single project this author writes about is dedicated to the craft of upgrading a sailboat to make it more convenient, safe and livable. It is written in a no-nonsense style, all diagrams make sense and all chapters are purposeful. I'm really happy I got this book.

Just wanted to tell you all how happy I am with this book. If you want to upgrade your boat to make it really convenient for the Captain, this is your book!

This book would probably get more stars from someone who has a boat in the 25' and up class, as most of the projects are for larger sailboats. I'm a trailer sailor (Potter 19) so most of the improvements described in the book don't work for me. It's a well-done book, though, with good descriptions and excellent illustrations, and a brief but useful introduction on the tools and materials required for boat repair. Among the projects discussed are: upgrading the galley .. converting to refrigeration .. running control lines to the cockpit .. converting a traveler to line control .. constructing sun shades .. maintaining and repairing bilge pump .. insulating the engine compartment .. increasing battery power .. installing a second shorepower inlet .. creating a dockside water connection .. adding a television/telephone input .. installing a TV .. cockpit speakers and stereos .. relocating a VHF .. installing polyethylene shelves in the head and galley .. storage space beneath the settee .. installing a V-berth cedar closet .. leather steering wheel cover .. leather chafe gear .. waxing and polishing decks and hulls .. refinishing wood with Cetol

This is the second in a series of books on modern China published by The Free Press, a division of McaMillan Publishing Co. Although published in the mid 1970's the series still has value for college undergraduate and graduate level instruction.

The writing style of the entire series easy to read and yet conveys much correct scholarly history. Professor Sheridan is the author of a number of books on China and he seems to favor writing on the warlord era of China--1912 thru 1949--having written this book and a biography of the famous "Christian Warlord," Feng Yu-hsiang.

This particular book, "China in Disintegration" deals with the period of time from the 1911 Sun Yat-sen democratic bourgeois revolution up to the time of the 1949 Revolution in China. During this time much of the centralized character of Chinese society and governance was broken apart. Various regional warlords controlled local areas of China and ran them independently from the wishes of the central government under Kuomintang Party of Sun Yat-sen and later of Chiang Kai-shek. Thus the title of this short 294-page book.

Sheridan published his book in 1975, in the middle of the Cultural Revolution (1966-76), a period of turmoil, mass killing, disintegration, unjustice, economic failure and human tragedy in general as disastrous as no other in the Chinese history, maybe with the sole exception of the Great Leap Forward (1957-60), another Mao Zedong's orchestrated descent into hell, this time featuring mass starvation (30 million deaths?) and stupidity as signs of the era. Apart from this, the whole Mao tenure was marked by the Gulag. Sheridan was, one have to suppose, a scholar on the subject of China in general, even if his book is devoted to the so-called Republican Era (1912-1949). How could he ignore so blatantly the consequences of the movements, decisions and political clashes he was reviewing? Because he was obsessed with words. Sheridan loves one word above any other: integration. His book is all about integration, his central theme: integration is supposedly that thing that turns feudal or semi-feudal or backward countries into modern players in the world stage, like Mao's China, as he naively suggests in his introduction. The book itself is named China in disintegration, and his message goes like this: the Kuomintang didn't integrate, so it lost. The Communists did integrate, so they won. Quite simple. There's other words Sheridan loves too, like modernization: like so many other 60s and 70s scholars, he hails Mao as the founder of the "modern" China, whatever it means, like that's good (or bad), like it wasn't Chiang Kai-shek who won the beloved seat and veto in the Security Council for the Republic of China. Maybe, he had to say all this empty words to make a point in the furiously anti-communist environment of Vietnam War U.S. I don't care. That's over now, the people who were supposed to listen to him are doing something else now, and his empty words remain empty. In A People's Tragedy, the Brit Orlando Figes portrays the Russian Revolution and the Civil War as a bloody business from both sides points of view. In his study of the other Great Agrarian Uprising, he shows clearly how the communist won not because they were nice guys who wanted to help the peasants and won their simple hearts, as Sheridan tries to demonstrate in the Chinese case, but because their policies looked better in the long run for the majority of a largely apolitical mass of people who wanted Land. Only Land (even if they were finally cheated, and ended up with No Land At All). Mao Zedong knew perfectly the basics of the Kidnapping of the Agrarian Revolution, that old communist strategy, as expressed in the notes written by the CIA case officers in Arbenz Guatemala (1954) or later by J.P.Vann in South Vietnam. Sheridan ignores it all. His revolution is a Bad Guy-Good Guy struggle, a young, brilliant, idealist Communist with History blowing his sails, versus that old creep who would kill his mother for money, the Kuomintang Confucionist Chinese. That's the weakest point of the book and one real important, because the Communist-Nationalist struggle is the key of the Republican Era, the one thing that basically weakened the Kuomintang's capacity to "integrate" China and finally gave birth to another China, 39 years of bloody soul-searching that ended up with a sell-out in exchange for Coca-cola. Sheridan, apparently unable to read either Chinese or French (the language in which so many excellent books about China are written), as I suppose after checking his sources, didn't have access to many authors that traveled behind the communist lines during the 30s and the 40s and wrote what they saw before 1975. In fact, when he's got to speak about Mao's revolutionary base in Yenan, he doesn't provide a single footnote identifying the sources of his lack of any knowledge whatsoever about the place, though he later states how helpful was for him Red Star over China, that piece of propaganda rubbish courtesy of Mao's friend and frequent guest Edgar Snow. The rest of the book, when one doesn't have to cope with the idealization of Mao and the reds, is well written, even occasionally insightful about the many flaws of the Kuomintang regime and the Warlords wars. Too bad all the names are in the Wade-Gilles transcription, which is currently used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau, and is (I believe) inferior to the pinyin transcription used in communist China, and confusing, especially since there is no Chinese characters or pinyin translations anywhere in the book. There you have one of the very few communist successes in history, and Sheridan doesn't take advantage of it.

The editor, Alan Downer, cautions the reader (as opposed to a spectator of the play) "not to allow himself to be troubled by the labyrinthine mechanics of the plot". Enjoy the comic aspects of the moment; the play will take care of itself. Downer argues that Sheridan envisioned The Rivals as a series of comic scenes, not necessarily a tightly woven plot.

In his preface Richard Brinsley Sheridan reminds the readers that this play was not initially well received and, in fact, he had to withdraw the play to remove imperfections. His later version was more successful and today The Rivals is one of the few English comedies from that period that continues to interest modern audiences.

I found the beginning slow. The author's wordy preface was followed by a prologue in which two lawyers plead with the audience to give this play fair consideration. On the tenth night a new prologue replaced the pleading as it was now obvious that the revised play was indeed successful. In Act 1 I had some difficulty keeping track of the characters and I chose to reread the first act before proceeding. Thereafter, the going was much smoother and I began to appreciate the foibles of the characters and their confused machinations.

The protagonist, the young Captain Absolute, was sensible for the most part, although his plan to woo the capricious Lydia Languish was obviously destined for trouble. The other characters included his excitable father Sir Anthony Absolute, his father's patient ward Julia, the silly Mrs. Malaprop, the comic gentleman wooers Faulkland, Acres, and Sir Lucius O'Trigger, and the conniving servants Fag, David, Thomas, and Lucy. While Sheridan does encourage us to laugh at his characters, his satire is gentle. His characters are not at all unlikable, just a little eccentric and possibly not overly intelligent.

I recently read and reviewed Sheridan's enjoyable The School for Scandal and I recommend that the reader new to Sheridan begin with it rather than The Rivals. Both plays are short and can be read with little difficulty with the help of an occasional footnote. For my reading of The Rivals I used the Crofts Classics edition in which Alan Downer provides a useful introduction, a list of key dates in Sheridan's life, footnotes, and a bibliography. I give four stars to The Rivals. I previously rated The School for Scandal as five stars.

This is the first major comedy by Sheridan, a radical Irish actor and politician in George III's England. Not quite as complex and astute as his later She Stoops to Conquer, the Rivals remains a warm, unforgettable, and very, very funny play.

Here we meet the chatty Mrs. Malaprop, who proudly tells us "if I reprehend anything in this world, it is the use of my oracular tongue, and a nice derangement of epitaphs"; her niece Lydia, lost in the world of lurid half-bound romantic novels; Sir Anthony Absolute, often wrong but never in doubt; Sir Lucious O'Trigger, of BlunderBuss Hall; and the rest. The dialogue and plot devices are well-crafted and funny; the social commentary is perceptive and satisfyingly naughty; but what stays with you is the humanity of each of the characters. These are not the charicatures of Restoration comedy, but personalties the reader will remember; ridiculous like all humans, but engendering empathy as well as laughter.

I enthusiastically recommend this very well-researched book because of its interesting folklore. However, I couldn't give it that fifth star because the punctuation is distracting. The author needs to research the proper use of the hyphen. Other than that caveat, it's an excellent book.

Well, it's a little weird writing this review myself, but you out there have had 4 years to do it and have now missed the chance to be the first! Having had the past few years to reflect on the book, I am still pretty happy with it as a first effort. Despite the tongue in cheek approach there really is a bit to be learned from my book - even if it's just to marvel at how superstitious the old time sailors were. My aim is to do another book sometime soon and I hope readers will enjoy the second as much as they seemed to have enjoyed the first!

The good:
1. Ebb Tide kept me on the edge of my seat. With characters forcing us to care deeply about them, unrelenting suspense, and vividly sketched nautical settings, this book was a real treat.
2. I listened to the audio version. Michael Tudor Barnes' bold yet relaxed performance proved such an authentic and natural extension of the story, that, ironically, it seemed imperceptible. Excellently paced narration.

The other:
1. I wish the ending had been different.
2. I had to listen to the first CD three times before I understood who everyone was. It was well worth the effort and time. I attribute my initial lack of understanding to unfamiliar seafaring terminology.

First of all, if you have got this far in the series you have to buy this book. It completes the series by tying up several loose threads that no doubt you have already wondered about. That being said, why do I only rank it with 3 stars?

I am a Nat Drinkwater fan and have generally loved the whole series. I am a bit disappointed in the manner in which Woodman brings it all together. The story involves a series of vignettes that address earlier periods in his life. It is a pretty imaginative way to handle it and there is a nice symmetry to the literary device. Unfortunately the sub-plots are a little too contrived and the outcomes are a bit too convenient.

The strength as well as the downside of the Drinkwater series is the way Woodman resists all inclinations to over-romanticize the characters or the plots. People die. People that you really like die, regularly and often. The seamy as well as the noble sides of the profession of arms is present though perhaps a little more darkly than absolutely necessary. Drinkwater himself is not a romantic figure in a strict sense. He does his job and struggles with himself as he does it. The historical detail and the apt descriptions of ship life are well integrated through out the series, something which cannot be said of Pat O'Brian's work.

So, on the whole, the series easily rates five stars. This particular work could have been better in my opinion, but after 20+ years of developing this series, Woodman can be excused for just wanting to "get it done."

Buy the book... it's a good read even with its faults.

Last spring when I saw that a book about the Folkboat was coming out I got very exited.I ordered it for my husbands birthday as we are the owners of a Folkboat.The text in the book is very interesting, but we were a little disappointed about the pictures, because they do not show the full prettiness in this small, easy and funny to sail boat. But it is a great story about a succes. As a librarian I am sad to say that no danish libraries bought this book so I will recommend it to all Danish Folboat owners

Written by editor and boating writer Dieter Loibner, The Folkboat Story: From Cult To Classic -- The Renaissance Of A Legend is a thoroughly fascinating book about the 25-foot sailing vessel called the Nordic Folkboat, first designed during World War II and still sailed in regattas worldwide today. Black-and-white photographs and a clear text present the history, uses, and present day charm of the Folkboat. The Folkboat Story is recommended reading for nautical enthusiasts and a fine gift book for sailing buffs.

Los Angeles based Private Investigator, Whistler, is the modern day version of Mickey Spillane's hero, Mike Hammer, short, only moderately good looking but with the cocky, slick dialogue of a street smart good guy. He happens to be at the right place at the right time when a headless female corpse slides out of the back of a mortuary station wagon, after an accident involving a well known TV actor. Whistler's friend,an L.A.P.D detective, tells him that a female head was found by a lake near New Orleans and that the body is that of a Vietnamese prostitute who was forced into making pornographic movies for a known producer of "snuff" movies in N.O. The story then moves back and forth between the two cities with gruesome details of the seamy and frankly evil business of child pornography and movies where women are killed as a finale. It's a terrifying look at a side of life of which, thankfully, most people are not aware. For all its horrors, this book is written in a wry fashion, glossing over the seaminess with clever dialogue...I'll be looking forward to meeting Whistler again in another book.

Robert Campbell's Whistler series is a sort of combination of Raymond Chandler and James Ellroy--PI tales that are darker than noir.

When a bodiless head is found in New Orleans and a headless body turns up in LA, Whistler gets drawn into a case involving kiddie porn, snuff films and the seamy underbelly of both LA and the Big Easy. Campbell, like Elmore Leonard, is especially strong on dialogue and he introduces many memorable characters. A very good entry in the Post-Modern private eye genre.

GRADE: B

N.B.--These books are not recommended for the squeamish.

This is a reasonably good, though dry, effort at examining the life of the mellifluous-voiced British actor, James Mason. The book is paced well and there is a fair amount of information on most of his movies. However, there is a lack of information on Mason's personal life, especially regarding his unusual first marriage to the ascerbic Pamela Mason.

Though Pamela Mason was a loud-mouthed and shrewish adulteress, she was also extremely witty and interesting in her own right. Anyone who recalls her appearences on L.A. TV shows from the 60's and 70's will still chuckle at her endless tirades, usually ending with the predictable sentence, "James was so dull."

This book actually provides convincing evidence that James *was* boring. Mason comes off as depressed, rigid, indecisive and inrodinately unhappy. He makes many poor choices and instead of getting over them and getting on with his life, he broods about the negative consequences of his actions. For example, he moves to Hollywood and instantly detests California and American life, yet he inexplicably continues to live in the States for another 15 years. Hello, James... what was the problem?

It is never explained why James stayed with Pamela for so many years, even when he was miserable in her presence and unhappy living in America. When he finally does divorce her, he ends up shilling out millions in alimony and making a succession of wretched movies in order to pay off Pamela.

Ultimately, the real tragedy is that a man as intelligent, urbane and handsome as James Mason (not to mention his stupendous voice!) handled his career in such a haphazard way. He was a marvelous screen actor, but wasted his talent in many potboilers. This book doesn't really explain these poor choices and doesn't reveal enough about Mason's private life.

I really enjoyed this biography by Sheridan Morley on James Mason. It is really good, and tells much about his life, but more about his career. It's a very good read though, and you will learn about him from it. It's well written and really is an interesting read for any fan of James Mason.

In the first half of Robert Pinget's playful "Mahu, or The Material," Latirail is writing a novel in which Mahu himself might or might not be a character. Even Latirail's existence could be said to be in doubt. Is he real or maybe just a character in Mademoiselle Lorpailleur's book? Or could it be that Mahu is the creator of all this confusion after all?

Characters in this first part come to life and expire at a moment's notice; certain plot ideas are explored, only to become unworkable. As soon as the writer realizes how any story will play out and ultimately end, then: poof! Inspiration disintegrates, and the act of writing comes to a complete standstill.

In the second part, the novel is abandoned and Mahu tells very brief, seemingly unrelated stories about things he's observed, people he's met. With a bit of humor, Pinget describes the whole writing process by literally showing how it plays out for all involved, author and characters alike.

So begins this slim, elliptical, quirky novel by Robert Pinget--a novel that defies any intelligible description of precisely what it's about. In fact, the entire issue of "what it's about" is "what it's about."

Written in short chapters, each a self-contained absurdist set-piece, and arranged in what is seldom a rational progression, and even then only according to the loosest possible logic, *Mahu* is a kind of comic monologue of non-sequiters delivered by a narrator who acknowledges he's making up all the characters and events of which he speaks. Except not really. Since they're all based on real events and people he knows and memories that are only imperfect recreations of fact no matter how scrupulously recorded. Some of the characters in Mahu's narrative are even writing novels in which the other characters--including Mahu--are characters themselves. Pinget plays deftly with this conceit, using it as a metaphor for life--the way each of us become characters in someone else's life (story).

A friend of Samuel Beckett who he acknowledged as a literary influence, Pinget has a style reminiscent of the Irish uber-absurdist. It's the sort of writing that either appeals to--and echoes--some tragicomic cry of futility inside you, or doesn't. It's a "novel" not so much about writing novels, as about "writing" life--another way of saying *Mahu* is a text about the language of consciousness as well as consciousness *as* language and the problem inherent in both apprehending and making sense of experience even as we're experiencing it running through our fingers like a bucket of good intentions. For Pinget, the radical uncertainty of everything which begins (and ends) with our own consciousness and the worm-hole ridden representations of reality we must make from that consciousness is the essential and insoluble dilemma of existence. For those who feel likewise, the divine nonsense of *Mahu, or the Material* will make perfect sense.

I am a tugboat operators working out of New York harbor, and I am trying to read as many books about the maritime industery as posible. I one day hope to own a company of my own, and books such as this one are a great help. This book shows you that you don't need a million dollars to start out in the maritime tug and salvage trade, as well as having a great list of equipment suppliers in the last chapter. I read this book in one sitting and I think I learned a lot.

I am a tugboat operators working out of New York harbor, and I am trying to read as many books about the maritime industery as posible. I one day hope to own a company of my own, and books such as this one are a great help. This book shows you that you don't need a million dollars to start out in the maritime tug and salvage trade, as well as having a great list of equipment suppliers in the last chapter. I read this book in one sitting and I think I learned a lot.