Stanley Books

If you are looking for an excellent book that relates what it was like to be an aviator in the Royal Flying Corps during World War 1, this is it. It is a series of letters and diary entries that tell the story of a "pilot of no fame". The writing style is very reader friendly and compelling. I absolutely treasure this book! I re-read this book! I never tire of it! I own three copies of this book and I recommend it to everyone. It is out of print and sometimes difficult to obtain but it is worth every penny charged. I wish Arthur Gould Lee had written more material. He was a talented writer and (he would modestly disagree with me) a very brave man. I am including links to two other books which may be of interest. Lee flew the Sopwith Pup Sopwith Pup Aces of World War 1 (Aircraft of the Aces) and the Sopwith Camel Sopwith Camel Aces of World War 1 (Aircraft of the Aces). The Battle of Cambrai, was arguably, Lee's finest hour. If you wish to learn more about the battle here are two more links to investigate Cambrai 1917: The birth of armoured warfare (Campaign) and Ironclads of Cambrai: The First Great Tank Battle. You may wish to see my other reviews!

A fine work like this is timeless. You really got a feel for what it was like to be in an old biplane during the First War. This story was totally believable too, with no bragging or exaggerated accounts of heroics or daring-do. An honest diary account of what a typical fighter pilot endured during those hazard filled days. Too often we think of WW I dogfighting as glamorous and exciting with the Red Baron zipping across the skies. This book will make you feel like you've really been there.

Anthony Gould Lee was a young pilot with the Royal Flying Corps in 1917. These letters were written to his wife from his Fighter Squadron in France. The airmen of the First World War were the first to give battle in this new frontier. They engaged in single combat like the knights of medieval times. Airplanes were first used for reconnaissance, like aerial cavalry. Then the enemy began to shoot them down. Next began the individual combat between airplanes in 1916 and 1917. By 1918 large disciplined formations clashed in vast dog-fights. They were regarded as knights, but most came from social levels other than the nobility of Europe. Most were young, and had a high wastage rate (p.xvii). The majority did their job without the glory of becoming an ace. This book contains the modified letters he sent home from the front. They tell of his experiences, but this will not interest the general public.

Appendix A discusses the Failure of the High Command. They designed a standard government aeroplane for aerial reconnaissance which was totally unsuitable for offense or defense (p.213). Britain lacked a flourishing aircraft industry, like in France or Germany. Creating a monopoly leads to a loss in quality (p.214). The Admiralty did not make this mistake, so the Royal Navy supplied their surplus to the Royal Flying Corps. The survivors of this debacle prevented this from re-occurring in WW II.

Appendix B discusses the Strategy of the Offensive and its distant patrols. This caused extra losses and wear and tear on pilots and planes by continuous patrols along the whole British front (p.217). The Germans concentrated superior numbers as it suited them, and caused heavy British air losses (p.218). Sending obsolescent machines deep into enemy territory was as irrational as Haig's adherence to attrition or the Admiralty's resistance to escorted convoys. This was not repeated in WW II.

Appendix C discusses the lack of parachutes for airmen. Two explanations were given (no official documentation exists). The claim that no reliable parachutes existed in 1917-1918 was not true (p.219). The other claim that pilots would give up without a fight was contradicted by daily action in France. The effect of having a parachute was to encourage an extra effort, as shown in WW II (p.223). The disavowal of parachutes came from senior officers who had no flying experience! A decision was made in September 1918 to order parachutes, but the war ended before they could be used (p.225). Time purged the decision makers by WW II.

A fine work like this is timeless. You really got a feel for what it was like to be in an old biplane during the First War. This story was totally believable too, with no bragging or exaggerated accounts of heroics or daring-do. An honest diary account of what a typical fighter pilot endured during those hazard filled days. Too often we think of WW I dogfighting as glamorous and exciting with the Red Baron zipping across the skies. This book will make you feel like you've really been there.

This book is a compilation of letters and diary entries. They were made in the heat of the day, and through their immediacy let the reader feel what is was like to be a fighter pilot in 1917.

Lee tells us of how cold it was while on patrol at 20,000 feet and how peaceful the trenches seemed. Later we learn how stressful it was to be tasked with with ground attacks in a Camel. The reader also learns about all the little things in a pilot's life, like shooting frogs in a pond and partying like there was no tomorrow. And burying your squadron mates with frightening regularity.

This book is simply written, and makes no pretext of being a significant historical work. What is does, and does so well, is tell the story of the average joe trying to stay alive in the skies of the Western Front.

It is a story that will stay with you.

First, I want to say that I have purchased a great many books on Amazon.com, and I have never bothered to write a review; although I do read the reviews of any book I am interested in. I am a woman of a certain age and have returned to school(again) to finally complete my undergraduate degree. I registerd for a photography workshop and was required to do a final paper on any photographer of my choice. Naturally,for me the first person to pop into my head was James VanDer Zee, and then I saw something on television about a Roy DeCarava, however there wasn't very much information on this gentleman. As fate would have it I was searching around on Amazon for something and Eureka! I stumbled upon One Shot Harris. I took one look and I was hooked. Needless to say my paper was on Teenie Harris. What a man, what story, and he is the bomb photographer!!! After looking at his images I wanted to travel to Pittsburgh and walk the streets that this man walked. Teenie Harris: A Little Known Black History Fact. If you are a photograpy buff, please pick up a copy. You will not be disappointed. Teenie was the man.

As I slowly turned the pages on this masterpiece, it brought back so many memories. I came along much later than most of these photographs, however, I can remember as a little girl walking down Herron Avenue or driving through as we lived not too far from there. I left Pittsburgh 20 years ago, and much has changed. My father was also a picture taker and I remember watching him develop his pictures in the cellar. He used a very dark bulb and I can almost smell the chemicals he used. It was amazing to me and my sisters to watch those pictures come to life right before our eyes. I don't know if my father knew Charles Harris, because I didn't hear about him myself until a few years ago and I had lived in Pittsburgh for 40 years before moving away. I did hear talk that some type of building is to be erected or dedicated featuring most of Mr. Harris' photographs. To my knowledge that has not happened yet, but when it does, I will make a trip home to see it.

The 120 photographs in One Shot Harris depict the struggle of African Americans against discrimination and show the strength and dignity which they displayed in creating their own unique community institutions. Although the days are gone when a corner of Pittsburgh's Hill District, Wylie and ? were known as the Crossroads of the World - a casualty of "urban renewal" in the form of the Civic Arena, Harris's photographs survive as a reminder and a record of that time. Charles Harris' familiarity with this community infuses his work with a uniquely intimate sense of the neighborhood and its people. A recent exhibit of his work at the Westmoreland Museum of Art even had the title "Spirit of the Community."

Charles "One Shot" or "Teenie" Harris was born in Pittsburgh and his work as staff photographer for the Pittsburgh Courier and as an operator of his own photographic studio spanning from the 1930s to the 1970s, provide us with a glimpse into the lives of people in the Hill during that time. His work shows many different aspects of society, including people at work, at play - mostly in the restaurants or clubs, such as the Crawford Grill and the Hurricane. Harris also captured musical celebrities such as Louis Armstrong (pg. 145), Duke Ellington (pg. 146), Billy Eckstine (pg. 151, 153, 155), Lena Horne (pg. 150), Sarah Vaughan (pg. 151), Sam Cooke (pg. 152), Cab Calloway (pg. 156), Ray Charles (pg. 158), Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie (both on pg. 155). All of these musicians flocked to the Hill's clubs to jam. Harris also captured legendary Negro League baseball players of the Homestead Grays and Pittsburgh Crawfords (pgs.96-99), for whom Harris himself played for when they were known as the Crawford Colored Giants. His images also show unique scenes with legendary boxers Muhammad Ali (pg. 92) and Joe Louis (pg. 93, 156). Politicians such as Eleanor Roosevelt (pg. 84), John F. Kennedy (pg. 88-89), Martin Luther King, Jr. (pg.91), Dwight Eisenhower (pg. 86) and Richard Nixon (pg. 87) are shown interacting with the public.

Literary and social critic Stanley Crouch gives the photographs a context by presenting an overview of Pittsburgh's history that emphasizes the importance of African American people and especially by identifying the significant migration of African Americans from the South to the North, filling the jobs of the recently departed soldiers in factories whose production was crucial for the war efforts. Between 1910 and 1930 the African American population of Pittsburgh grew by some 120 percent, from 25,600 to 55,000. Although the Pittsburgh's population has declined significantly since 1910, its African American population has increased from 25,600 to over 86,000. These photographs help document the most vibrant period in Pittsburgh's growing African American community. His essay displays a meticulous recognition of details in photographs, making even the most common image an interesting story. Crouch also identifies the significant figures in jazz that emerged from this community to affect the international Jazz scene in an important way. Several photographs capture Pittsburgh's own Billy Eckstine, the best of which show him with Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie (pg. 155). A young George Benson (pg. 157) sprawls across a piano and a smiling 11-year-old Ahmad Jamal plays the piano for an adoring crowd (pg. 26).

Deborah Willis, professor of photography and imaging at New York University's Tisch School of Arts and the author of Reflections in Black and, gives us the background on "Teenie" or "One Shot," the origins of his nicknames, how he came to be a photographer, and the social and cultural background and significance of his work. She points out that the sincerity of the people Harris photographed was a product of a trust that they placed in Harris which resulted in a depiction of African Americans with great dignity that was absent from the mainstream "White" press. Willis quotes former Pittsburgh Courier editor Frank Bolden who described Harris as a storyteller and said his "pictures all told a story." Some of the significant stories are hidden below the surface. For example, the men counting coins (pg. 69), were most likely doing so for number runners like Gus Greenlee (pg. 142) or Woogie Harris (pg. 156) - the brother of "One Shot" who loaned him the money to start is own studio. These men served as neighborhood bankers for African Americans who could not secure loans from banks and the example of Charles Harris was much like that of many other successful Black businessmen in that they needed to borrow from these men to get their start. The Black Businessmen's parade was a large neighborhood parade that gave African Americans an opportunity to display pride in their community and its legacy lives in these photographs of streets packed with onlookers (pg. 44-46). The Crystal Barbershop shows the classic barbershop owned by "Woogie" Harris (pg. 132).

The story of Pittsburgh's Hill District and its African American community has and will continue to become an important subject of research. The publication of "One Shot Harris" presents us with a look into work of one the greatest visual documentarians of that community and urban life in the Northern United States during the period of time that is now known as "The Great Migration," signaling a shift in the African American population from rural Southern communities to urban Northern cities. This work is the immediate product of the Carnegie Museum of Arts acquisition of the over 80,000 negatives that represent the Charles "Teenie" Harris photographic archive. Its publication provides us with a glimpse of things to come and a look into some of the visual stories of the Hill's past. The 135 images in this book remind us of why the Harlem Renaissance poet Claude McKay once described Pittsburgh's Hill District as "The Crossroads of the World."

Teenie was a true master of his craft. He captured mid-20th century Black Pittsburgh as did Matthew Brady during the Civil War. Teenie's photos do "jump off the page." Teenie's vivid images reflect his vibrant, passionate approach to life and his surroundings.

One of the best well kept secrets, and only known to the Pittsburgh area, was Charles Teenie Harris, who made photos out of one shot(hence his other nickname),worked for the Pittsburgh Courier, as well as owned his own photo studio. He photographed the famous and ordinary, rich and poor, black and white(sometimes integrated), and most events in Pittsburgh at the time(1930s-1970s). Once you open this book, you will fall in love and enjoy the photos that this man has made and appreciate his love for art. Although for the most part the photos are tasteful, there are some that are not(murder and accident scenes) and even those are not obscene as one may feel. I recommend this book to all who wish to know of Mr Harris. It is sad that he got accolades after his passing, as well as to never know that his work was returned to him, after going to court to retrieve it. Oh and one more thing, check out Stanley Crouch's biting commentary on Pittsburgh and its history at the beginning. You won't look at history that way again.

I am now reading this book for the fourth time. I consult this book as much as I consult the Holy Bible. Why? Because this book forces me to tell and understand the truth about myself as well as the source of the problems that has created so many needs in my life. I highly recommend this book to any Christian who has reached a point in their walk with Christ where nothing but truth sets them free and apart from the world. Thank you Dr. Stanley for allowing the Lord to use you as a vessel to write such a glowing and thought provoking book. God Bless You!
LAT from North Carolina

I have read and re-read this book and listened to and re-listened to the audio version. WHen I begin to rely on others to meet my needs and as I continue to be disappointed I find no better book than this one to put things back in perspective.

I love Charles Stanley and seek his wisdom in my toughest times (after seeking the Lord). This book is invaluable when I am struggling with my unmet earthly needs.

You can read any review for what the book covers but I just wanted to express what it does for me spiritually.

God bless.

"And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus," notes Philippians 4:19. The crux of Stanley's message is that God knows us and all of our unmet needs. Charles Stanley offers moral support to Christians and Scriptural exhortation. Jehovah Jireh provides all our needs, and when we walk in faith, he brings us to where he wants us. "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose," declares the Apostle Paul in Romans 8:28. It doesn't mean life goes peachy for Christian and is devoid of trials and afflictions, but the all things are working together for our good, our sanctification, and our final redemption when we're raised in glory. For those of faith, God is our sustainer, and he will make adequate provision for us when we turn to Him and acknowledge our dependency on Him to supply our unmet needs. Stanley exhorts reader to trust in God, seek fruits of patience and love. Charles Stanley has assembled another great inspirational and insightful pick-me-up for Christians on their spiritual journey.

this book has answered so many questions that i have asked so many pastors with no avail. my mind is filled with hope, where i thought i was alone. charles stanley is wonderful, and my own doctor says he has learnd so much more from his books. thank you, for helping me get through very bad times since 1996. i know that i am on the right road, for heaven, and God is my way to heaven thanks to charles stanley.

Dr. Charles Stanley clearly defines needs and wants in this both insightful and inspirational book. He helps the reader understand their wants and needs, then leads the reader to successful methods to fulfill those needs.

This book sincerely changed my life. Things that most of us consider needs are really wants and each chapter places the reader closer to fulfillment for those wants and needs. I occasionally pull out the notebook I kept while reading this book as a reference and inspiration.

I picked up this book when trying to better understand God's plan for me in life. I had so many questions about my path in life and was angry with myself because I could not achieve those things. This book helped me answer many questions and move toward peace.

This book is a must have.

Saving Sweetness by Diane Stanley is about an orphan named Sweetness. She ran off to the desert because she really hated the director of the orphanage, Mrs. Sump. Mrs. Sump hired a police officer to find her. But when the police officer found Sweetness she ran away because she didn't want to go back. The sun came down when the policeman was about to find Sweetness. He found Sweetness again but she started to cry. Then she ran off again. The sun came up and he wanted to find some shade. Then Coyote Pete, a criminal, came up and had his gun pointing at the police's badge, but Sweetness came and dropped a rock on Coyote Pete's head. By then Coyote Pete got arrested. The police officer adopted Sweetness and all the other orphans and Coyote Pete when to jail.

Mrs. Sump is a mean orphanage director. Mrs. Sump was nasty enough to scare the orphans. Mrs. Sump is so mean that she wouldn't let her dog eat anything. Only her cat could eat. She had the orphans scrub the floor with a toothbrush. She didn't like seeing the orphans having fun. She is so mean that she would marry a criminal! She went crazy because one of her students ran away.

This book is fun to read because it has a lot if action and it's has a caring part at the end when the police officer adopted all the orphans and had no problem about it. I like the way the author wrote something about how the police officer adopted all the orphans and was nice enough to take care of the orphans. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes love and care because the book is about an orphan who doesn't like the orphanage director but loves the police officer. The lesson I learned from this book is to take care of people who need help.

By Shawn

This book is the most fun to read out loud! What a treat for both parent and child ... teacher and students. I read it to my 8-year old girl and we both laughed out loud throughout the story. The subtle messages make for some great discussion as well. Themes such as : "Sometimes adults can use help from children", "Children have more power over situations than we sometimes give them credit for", "What goes around comes around", "Do unto others as you would have done unto you", etc. It is also a good book for discussing adoption/foster care. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

When the sheriff of a dusty western town "rescues" Sweetness, an unusually resourceful orphan, from nasty old Mrs. Sump and her terrible orphanage, neither the sheriff nor Sweetness know what they are getting into. Sweetness is quite the unlikely hero, but she succeeds in rescuing the sheriff time and time again, even while the sheriff believes that he is the one doing the rescuing.

A great story for children to hear or read, as they will enjoy the fact that Sweetness is the real hero. The language and illustrations of the story will mesmerize kids. Adults will have a lot of fun reading the book with an accent.

From the moment you begin this book, you will want to read it aloud and get caught up in the rhythm of the language..."Mrs. Sump doesn't much like seein' the orphans restin' or havin' any fun, so she puts 'em to scrubbin' the floor with toothbrushes. Even the ittiest, bittiest orphan, little Sweetness. So one day, Sweetness hit the road." Children appreciate the humor in the sheriff's attempts to rescue Sweetness from the perils in the desert.The illustrations are an interesting blend of mediums.This book is just plain, good ole fun.

This is the best of the California Young Reader nominees in it's catagory this year. I thought it was a real hoot, and I am adding it to our school library. It is funny and has a good message about adoption. I really think the children are going to have fun with this one.

Dr. Stanley Burns, author of "Sleeping Beauty" and I produced "Death In America, A Chronological History Of Illness and Death" which is based on Sleeping Beauty and includes many of the images from the book. The Burns Archive, which houses the collected images, is the single largest privately held collection of photographs in the world. With more than 500,000 images, the collection specializes in post-mortum and medical photograhy (ref: Ken Burns "Civil War" - no family relation). Death In America has been airing nationally on public television since 1998 and can be seen at www.deathinamerica.com. The type post-mortum photography chronicled in Sleeping Beauty was very expensive and nearly always a great sacrifice on the part of the family. If, as an example, you were a farmer in 1850 making a few dollars each month, one photograph could easily cost you several months pay. It is virtually impossible for us today to understand the pre-photographic mind. Until the invention of photography the average family had no way to hold a keepsake of their loved one. This one image was so precious an object that they were worn as jewelry and in later years even sent to relatives as post cards. One of the most important aspects of "Sleeping Beauty" is Dr. Burns' historical chronology which describes each image, tells the story behind the image and gives the reader a real sense of the social and cultural influences of the time. Examples include physicians keeping grave-robbers on retainer for over 250 years, the Bayer Company inventing Heroin, the development of the germ-theory of disease and the editor of the Ladies Home Journal creating the "Living Room". Death In America has to date been seen by approximately 45 million viewers. In September of 2000, PBS will begin running a new program on death by Bill Moyers. Many stations will run Death In America as a companion piece. If anyone wishes to contact the producers of our program they can respond to our e-mail at Blackmirror@msn.com.

I was interested to find "Sleeping Beauty" after reading about it on the webpage of the PBS documentary "Death In America," which was based on this book. Unfortunately, I discovered it was out of print, but managed to borrow a copy through an interlibrary loan. I found it to be utterly fascinating. Some of the photos were beautifully done, resembling quietly sleeping children, while others were quite disturbing as the subjects were very obviously deceased. Particularly shocking were a pair of photos, one of a little boy lying on a bed with his toy ball, staring sadly at the camera, and another of the same boy after death. It is a sad reminder of the fact that the infant mortality rate during this time was so high, and often these were the only portraits the family might have of a child. It is incredible to think that a family might treasure such mementos, but I think of the now fairly commonplace practice of photographing miscarried or stillborn babies, and understand to an extent the need to have "proof" that this person existed.

Just amazing. Grabbed a copy of this pretty cheap, I mean as cheap as they get, and I believe I like his second one better, but I just had to have it. You can find most of the photos as reference in other volumes and articles, but if you can grab a copy without a bank loan, DO IT!

This may be the only monograph on 19th century post-mortem photography in America. The reproductions are beautifully done and the introductory text summarizes the use and importance of this unique genre. The author calls attention to the universality of death and how issues of death were addressed more openly than they are today. This is a must for photography-lovers, especially for thost who are interested in portraiture.

Selection of postmortem photographs from the "Burns Archive," which contains over 500,000 vintage prints including the world's largest collection of early medical photographs. Printed in two very limited editions - fascinating collection. Extensively illustrated with photgraphs and accompanied by a chronological essay on death in America, and a bibliography. Provocative and unsettling.

Everything you need to know about travelling around the South Pacific is in the 8th edition of the Moon guide to the South Pacific, yet another informative and comprehensive guidebook from the number one South Pacific expert. This edition covers all the islands of your dreams, from well-known holiday destinations such as French Polynesia to lesser-known places such as Pitcairn Island and Niue. It is full of thoroughly researched and practical information on travelling to and around the Pacific, covers everything from where to stay to where to eat, from background history to contemporary culture and traditions, and is a delight to read regardless of whether you are planning a trip to the South Pacific or not. It is the definitive guide for everyone, from the luxury traveller to the backpacker to the adventurer to the armchair dreamer.

Even though I travel often to the South Pacific, I can always rely on David Stanley's guidebooks to introduce me to some new area of interest, a different place to hang out, or an idea for an activity or excursion I hadn't previously thought about. It gives a whole new meaning to "don't leave home without it."

A new edition of this handbook is now available and it can be found by searching for "Moon Handbooks South Pacific" on this site.

As president of Sea For Yourself Snorkeling Tours, it¹s my professional obligation to remain attentive to both the world¹s best snorkelingsites and the logistical infrastructure that facilitates our group visits. For thesepurposes, (as well as my personal travel) David Stanley¹s travel handbooks have been a valuable and trusted ongoing source of reliableinformation. For travel planning, it¹s critical to use reference material that is accurate, up-to-date, and complete. The South Pacific Handbook satisfies all these criteria, and more.I was especially interested in the description of coral reefs. David does a superb job condensing this complex biological system ­ revealing it¹s essential ecological ingredients in the context of how we can responsibly interact with the fish, coral, and resident human communities.David¹s book is filled with the practical (and accurate) nuts and Bolts information so essential for planning your trip to the South Pacific. The extensive section of general advice (currency, health, food, recreation, visas, etc.) is then followed by detailed regional descriptions of virtually every inhabited island group in the entire South Pacific, including evaluations of restaurants, accommodations, and transportation issues.If I had to pick a single book, either to use in planning my South Pacific Odyssey or to take with me on the journey, it would be David Stanley¹s South Pacific Handbook.

David Stanley writes the best guides for the Pacific region. Whatever you want/need to know, you'll find it in his guides. His depth of research and knowledge is astonishing. Check it out.

South Pacific Handbook Review ... By Garry Hawkins

If you're thinking of travelling to the South Pacific (and go you definitely should), then David Stanley's `South Pacific Handbook' is THE travellers bible for the region. It's the only guidebook that covers every single inhabited island in the region in one single volume, yet at 908pp remains sufficiently comprehensive to give you all the background information you could ever possibly ask for.

My first odyssey to the South Pacific came in 1991, at the end of a round the world trip. While total war was raging in the Gulf, here was I, languishing at the Royal Hotel in the old Fijiian capital of Levuka. But what a place to languish! I'll let David Stanley describe the scene to you:

"For the full Somerset Maugham flavour, stay at the 15 room Royal Hotel... In the lounge, ceiling fans revolve around the rattan sofas and potted plants, and the fan- cooled rooms upstairs with private bath are pleasant, with much needed mosquito nets provided. At US$8/12/14 for single/double/triple the colonial atmosphere and impeccable service make it about the best value in Fiji.... Everybody loves this place."

Well, I can vouch for that! Meanwhile however, cruise missiles were performing flybys past the Baghdad Hilton, but outside the Royal Hotel it was merely raining cats and dogs. Well - it was the wet season you know! But while I sat soaking up the colonial ambience, I had plenty of time to delve into my trusty South Pacific Handbook.

I began to realise that were so many different places to go in the region. You may have heard of Western Samoa, Tahiti, Tonga or even the Cook Islands? But have you ever heard of Tuvalu, Tokelau, Niue or Futuna? No? Well not many people have but from Solomon Islands to Easter Island - you'll find them all in David Stanley's book.

Even if you never get to visit some of these far flung and exotic sounding names, you can learn an awful lot about this splendidly diverse region of different cultures and customs. Plate tectonics, Darwin's theory of atoll formation, the greenhouse effect, French nuclear testing, fauna and flora, economics, politics, conservation and the environment. I could go on....

Since my initial visit to Fiji, I've managed to visit Samoa, Tonga, Niue, Tahiti, Cook Islands and Tuvalu - and still there's more to see. I'd love to visit the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Wallis, Futuna, New Caledonia, Easter and Pitcairn Island - so many islands to visit and so little time (and money!) to do it with.

Next time I'm headed for the South Pacific, I'll be sure to take David Stanley's South Pacific Handbook with me. Why carry a multitude of travel guides for different islands, when you need only take the one?

Great insight to what goes on around the Cup. Of course, visiting the Cup live is the best option but this books allows you the appreciation of seeing her live and knowing who touched it and where she traveled to or in.
A must for any hockey fan. It gives some fun topic to chat about with your buddy's over some beers.

What do hockey players do with the Stanley Cup after winning the most cherished trophy ? That's what author Kevin Allen wrote about in the book Why is the Stanley Cup in Mario Lemieux's Swimming Pool?: How Winners Celebrate With the World's Most Famous Cup. With each player getting twenty-four hours to spend with Lord Stanley's Cup the cup comes back with a lot of bizarre memories.
The book takes you through the long journeys that they Stanley Cup endures. It takes you to many foreign countries like Russia and Canada, to the pool of Mario Lemieux or even to Cornell with Joe Nieuwendyk to visit his blind college professor. The book describes how meaningful winning the Stanley Cup is to hockey players. Long after the final game the players still have the same emotions with the Stanley Cup as they did the day they raised it over their heads. The book includes many players stories of when they won the Cup from the likes of Maurice Richard to more recently Brett Hull.
I highly recommend to those hockey fanatics who just can't get enough hockey. This book defiantly makes you want to keep reading and once you start you will not be able to put it down. Every time I see the precious trophy I always think back to this book and all the unusual things that the athletes did with the Stanley Cup.

this book was pretty funny to hear all the stories of the stanley cup it makes you laugh when you see people drink out of it to it also makes you think what you would do if you ever won the cup its great

If you are a fan of hockey, this is a must! I couldn't put it down. One story after another, after another. Next time you see the Cup, you'll think back to all of the hilarious things the Cup's been through. Five star, double thumbs up!

This is one of the coolest books I have ever read. Being a hockey nut, I just ate these stories up like no tomorrow. You don't need to be a crazy fan like myself to enjoy the stories though. The Stanley Cup is definately the most well traveled hunk of silver around and its story is still being written. The Cup means so much more that just winning and this book illustrates just how important it is to people and just how uncontrollably happy they can become when they raise it over their heads. One of these days, when I get my day with the Stanley Cup, I hope to be featured in a book just like this.
In general, this book is a unique collection of fascinating stories that have been compiled for over one hundred years. No hockey fan should be without this and I highly recommend it too anyone who is looking for an easy going and enjoyable book.

This is a lovely book that I find I can only express my enjoyment in somewhat paradoxical criticisms: I wish there had been more and I wish it had been slightly larger. That is to say, the photographs were so striking that I wanted more and I wanted them larger.

As other reviewers have noted, the book consists of low-level aerial photographs of various wilderness and wooded spots in the United States taken from an ultra light aircraft. Not every area of the country is represented, but I'm not sure that that makes very much difference. Even areas that I know looked completely fresh to me. This really is America as you've never seen it before.

If you enjoy nature photography or "from the air" books, you should definitely check this one out.

What a great time to appreciate America and what better way than to see it all from a different perspective! Many books offer images of our beautiful country but seeing it from the air is breathtaking. As an amature photographer, I have visited and photographed many of the places in this book but I feel like I'm seeing them for the first time all over again.

I met Bill Fortney on one of his Great American Photography Workshops and have never forgotten him. He is one of the most special people I have ever met and his passion for photography is infectious. You'll see that passion in the photographs in this book.

Bill Glenn & Wesley Fortney's book America At 500 Feet contains superb photography (one could only expect that from Bill Fortney)but contains an equally important sub-story--one of a unique father/son relationship. Every father who views this book will be jealous of the unique adventure that Bill and Wesley shared. Here is a son who was willing to quit his job to pursue a new identity and, in the process, becomes an accomplished photographer. Bill's reward is deep seated in strengthening the bond with a father's most precious possession--his son.
The pilot's logs personalize this book and bring the adventure into your living room. I don't know when I have enjoyed a book like this so much! This is must for anyone interested in outstanding landscape photography and a story of a unique father/son adventure of the highest level!

I was given your great book for Christmas this year. It is a terrific concept and even better execution!

However, as a confirmed and dedicated Westerner, I have to tell you that you need to study up on your geography. Your first book section is the beautiful West, and most of you second section (mislabeled Central) is of the beautiful West.

Credit needs to go where it is due, and there is no place on earth to match the American West.

Your other obvious mistake is missing Oregon. It has more variety of land forms and natural beauty than any of the other 50 states. And I'm not prejudiced! From the rugged coast to the Cascades to the Columbia Gorge to the great high desert and ponderosa forests of eastern Oregon, it is unbeatable.

About my outdoor life in Oregon, I'll excerpt your quote on p 59 of the book.

"all my days...each one holds its surprises and I have seen almost more beauty than I can bear."

In my Oregon experience that beauty has been a pigmy owl, a black bear at 20 yards, an eastern Oregon rainstorm that swept by us raining 20 feet away while we were dry, elk feeding along a forested slope with the herd bull bulging, the majesty of Steens Mountain and its 5000 foot eastern drop-off, a flock of 300 swans migrating south over the Blue Mountains, a pair of great horned owls high up in an old ranch barn along the edge of a high desert miles long lake, the multi-colored layered rock of the John Day Fossil Beds Monument--for miles and miles.

You gotta come to Oregon where you can do a book just on this great state!

Thanks for your book...really.

Lee Findley

I have collected many works in the genre over the years. This particular one by Fortney I find especially compelling. I gasped in abject wonder at the first facing photograph when turning the page following the author's introduction. Extraordinary imagery. Captivating perspectives, rich in composition. Handsomely reproduced so the printing effectively achieves resonance. Definitely one for the coffee table. If you've had the opportunity to drink in aerial vantage points when flying commercial airliners, you will be in for a treat because of the immediacy inherent within most shots. Thoughtful commentary into the context of certain photographs enhances the overall appreciation for what ultimately contributed to the finished product. I truly hope more works of this stunning artform emerge. What's next, Mr. Fortney?

I enjoyed the authors' book on logistic regression analysis in 1989, and this book is just as good, or better, with many extremely practical suggestions on building regression models for survival data. Happily, the authors summarize, compare, and contrast several major texts on survival analysis which have appeared in the past 10 years. For example, they discuss different names used by different authors for score residuals. They present a helpful appendix on the counting process approach to survival analysis, which will make more advanced texts accessible to students; thus, anyone who wants to use survival analysis, at any level, should consult this book, even if he has already studied books by Miller, Lee, Collett, Fleming-Harington,Andersen, et al, etc. An unfortunate drawback to this book is that the first printing contains many careless errors, some of which may affect student learning: for example, the definition of a survival function is misstated. I recommend that you insist on the second or third printing when buying this book, and you will be quite satisfied.

The authors provide a really nice, non-technical survey of the landscape for Cox Proportional Hazards models. A nice aspect of their treatment is the care they take to reference all highly technical texts and journal articles. For example, if you'd like to find out more about goodness-of-fit tests for survival models, the authors provide ample references to the Counting Process Theory of Martingale Residuals.

The first chapter discusses the basic characteristics of survival data, including the notion of censoring (in all of its various forms). Examples of the principle types of censoring are included. The chapter also includes introductory material on the general survival model, including a nice description of the log likelihood function. Curiously, the rigorous definition of the hazard function has been omitted, probably to avoid intimidating readers who are not familiar with formal limits.

Chapter 2 continues to build up the general survival model and introduces the relationship between the survivor function and the cumulative hazard. Pointwise estimators for the survivor function are discussed, including the Kaplan-Meier estimator along with the various variance estimators. Test statistics for comparing two survival populations are introduced, including the Log-Rank and General Wilcoxon statistics. The reader is encouraged to read the counting process treatments of these statistics to see why they produced defensible hypothesis tests.

Chapter 3 is devoted to the Cox Model and Cox's partial likelihood function. Tests for significance of the coefficients are introduced, included the Wald test, log likelihood ratio test and the score test. These are used heavily in the later chapters as the basis of a model-building methodology.

Chapter 4 is a very short, but nicely written chapter explaining how to interpret the values of each regression coefficent. It also describes covariate-adjustment techniques for model diagnostics.

Chapter 5 is just a wonderful chapter which outlines classical model building techniques. This is a great chapter for anyone who has ever been thrown a ton of data (with a bushel of possible covariates) and asked to "fit a model to this stuff".
Readers who have done a lot of purposeful fitting of linear regression models won't find the basic techniques new, but use of survival specific residuals and selection criterion will probably be an eye-opener. The section on assessing the functional form for continuous covariates is also nicely written.
However, the section on Best Subsets Selection was a little too "cook-booky" for my taste.

Chapter 6 is another very nice chapter on goodness-of-fit. It discusses analysis of the various residuals and their use for analysis outliers, testing proportional hazards assumptions and overall Goodness-of-Fit.

Chapter 7 discusses the standard extensions of the Cox model, including stratification and time-varying covariates. Chapter 8 discusses parametric survival models, and is a good introduction to the SAS procedure LIFEREG. The generalization of the Cox model to recurring event data (also know as Aalen's multiplicative intensity model) can be found in Chapter 9.

My only complaint is that each chapter was designed to be read in one sitting. Individual ideas, topics and formulas can be buried in a seemingly unbroken chain of paragraphs. The lack of sub-sub section titles,etc, makes using the text as is somewhat cumbersome to use as a desk reference. I've gotten around this limitation by marking key concepts, etc., in the margin in order to give a "quick search" capability enhancement to the index.

Applied Survival Analysis is an excellent book for someone seeking a non-mathematicial explanation of survival analysis. The book covers the motivation behind the development of survival analysis, estimation of survival curves, the Cox proportionial hazards, and some parametric models. The book also covers the major methods used in variable selection, model building, and diagnostics. Someone with an undergraduate background in statistics and econometrics will understand the book. The book relies on text to discuss the methods and uses mathematical formulas only when absolutely necessary. Numerous examples are used to highlight what the text covers. The math that is used is easily understandable. This book is ideal for someone who needs to learn the tools of survival analysis but not how they were derived.

This book provides a good, clear, concise explanation of Cox's proportional hazards models. For someone seeking a non-mathematical description this is a great guide. The original datasets from the text examples can even be downloaded and you can go through the same process yourself. Because of some mistakes in the text, I would recomend looking at other sources as well.

Hosmer and Lemeshow have given us a clear, nontechnical introduction to using survival models. The book strikes a good balance between covering the basics and addressing the most recent, state-of-the-art techniques, including repeated events, frailty models, and others. They also do a good job of addressing practical issues, including estimation details and available software. While most of the examples are drawn from medicine and biostatistics, this book could also serve as a useful starting point for social and behavioral scientists interesting in learning the fundamentals of these models, as well as a useful reference for applied researchers.

Charles Partridge Adams was a major Colorado landscape painter during the 19th and early 20th centuries, focusing on the mountains and plains of his area and producing Colorado landscapes which earned him acclaim. The collaborative effort of Dorothy Dines, Stephen J. Leonard, and Stanley L. Cuba, The Art Of Charles Partridge Adams reproduces some ninety of his works of Colorado, California, New England and Europe alike, including some preliminary sketches and journal selections to round out the offerings. A lively tribute to Adams and his life's work

This book is the major source for both artistic and historical information about Adams, widely considered to be Colorado's finest impressionist landscape painter. Adams is best known for his stunning views of snowy mountain peaks in early morning or sunset light, or wreathed in storm clouds, and for his luminous twilight and sunset paintings of the river bottoms near Denver. For sample photos from this book, photos of his paintings, and additional information, see the Adams website, charlespartridgeadams.com

This book is the major source for both artistic and historical information about Adams, widely considered to be Colorado's finest impressionist landscape painter. Adams is best known for his stunning views of snowy mountain peaks in early morning or sunset light, or wreathed in storm clouds, and for his luminous twilight and sunset paintings of the river bottoms near Denver. For sample photos from this book, photos of his paintings, and additional information, see the Adams website, charlespartridgeadams.com

My wife and I have one of his watercolor paintings. It was in an old antique shop. It is a mountain stream painting with mountain background.

Charles Partridge Adams (1858-1942) is widely considered to have been Colorado's finest landscape painter, best-known for his stunning views of snowy mountain peaks in early morning or sunset light, or wreathed in storm clouds, and for his luminous twilight and sunset paintings of the river bottoms near Denver. His paintings are best characterized as impressionistic and subjective. This lavish book contains 92 full-color illustrations of his work in both oils and watercolors, as well as three historical essays about Adams' life and work. A unique feast for those who love the Rocky Mountains and impressionism.