Sheridan Books

New international edition from Airports to youth hostels, 400 pages of building types, Tables, Checklists, Planing data, Over 3000 plans, Sections, Diagrams, Bibliography, Reference.

Admittedly, I am basing this review on the section about Northfield, where I have lived for many years. But if this section is any indication, this book was not fact-checked in any way, nor did they use anything so basic as a map to check directions. For instance: "Turning east off the interstate onto State 19, you have only about a 30 minute drive to Northfield." Last time I checked, it was 7 miles, less than 10 minutes. "The city's other highly respected university, Carlton College..." Hello, it's a _College_, not a university, there are _no_ universities in town, and it's spelled Carleton. "A sign greets motorists: Northfield, a special space." Try _Place_. "Head north out of town on Division Street (State 3)" - if you do head out of town on Division, it becomes State 19. "Northfield was founded in 1855...by John North and blacksmith/farmer I. S. Field." There's no mention of this Mr. Field in any of my books about Northfield history - did the author make this up? The author complains that "revisionist history [is] the rage these days," but I'm afraid he's unintentionally contributing to the revision. There are a fair number of other errors and wierd interpretations of reality in this section, but I think I've made my point.

I think the idea of the book is great - traveling through on the smaller roads, getting to know a state in a way other than just hitting the major cities, which are only a small part of what makes up this state. Unfortunately, the casualness with which dubious "facts" and directions are tossed around keep this book from being useful to most people.

The numerous diagrams and illustrations one finds when leafing through this little volume makes it seem like a promising attempt at explaining hydrodynamics of yachts to the layman owner/buyer. Unfortunately, the English translation (and perhaps the German original) is plagued with linguistic problems which considerably detract from its usefulness. Dimensional adjectives such as "tall" and "wide" are used inconsistently, sometimes referring to the vertical and sometimes to the horizontal axis; the important distinction between "keel" and "hull" is not always observed when vital to a point being discussed. The author is also in the habit of finishing discussions without summarizing the consequence or drawing a conclusion, leaving the reader wondering what it all meant. The author clearly knows his technical stuff, however badly it is conveyed, but his stern Teutonic opinions on comfort (accomodation on all yachts should consist of fold-down cots stacked in the center of the cabin; quarterberths and extra heads are frivolities!) won't win him many points with the intended audience of the book. It reminds me of the attitude German car companies had toward cup holders in automobiles until they discovered they were losing sales of $50,000 cars over that one amenity.
I don't think the potential buyer of a yacht will find much enlightenment in this too-difficult book except to have their eyes opened to the number of factors involved in yacht design.

Barry was one of the best Irish boxers in modern times and he deserves a better biography than this. No wonder he had another one written later.

Any boxing fans out there should probably pass on this one.

Yet another book by authors who are utterly unfamiliar with their subject. With all the great books on Monroe out there, why, oh why do authors with absolutely no intimate knowledge of Marilyn keep turning out this drivel? I recommend that you don't waste your time or money on THIS one! The pictures are rehashed oldies that we've all seen a million times before, and so are the stories. Poor Marilyn, will they ever let you rest in peace and stop inventing new insanities about you?

this biography like so many others just researches movie magazines and gossip colums the only real story is through the marilyn monroe foundation and the play here i am mother by nancy miracle a member of the dramatists guild

I have a degree in Electrical Engineering, so I'm used to very technical texts. This pamphlet, however, is so incomprehensible (to everyone except the author, I suspect) as to be useless. I would have gladly paid 10 times the price for a useful explanation, but unfortunately this thin booklet falls far short. The author provides complex tables, with no instructions or examples on how to use them (as though it was obvious...but it is not). Even the few examples given in the book are impossible to follow. What is needed, is a "compass corrections for dummies" type of book, replete with step by step examples which this book sorely lacks. Don't waste your $9 on this book, it will be better spent on beer.

If you are actually looking for your family in history, this isn't the place to look. It mentions the family name, followed by a statistic like what percentage that family was compared to the general population. The rest of the book consists of general population statistics.

You can do better at your public library.

2 years ago, I got the cataloge of Sheridan Worldwide Inc. at the bookfair in Frankfurt/Germany. It included an orderform, which I filled out and sent, together with a cheque for $ 85.00 to Scottsdale, AZ. The cheque was cashed 2 months later, I still have not received the book. An enqiry with the Better Business Bureau resulted in:"we are sorry, this company is not known here." I am now $85.00 smarter.

I found this book very boring. Almost every one of the stories had the potential for 'being interesting' but this was lost in the authors penchant for big works and his unabashed self adoration.