Stanley Books

When my father mentioned the book over Christmas a couple years back, he was taken aback by my rattling off of facts about the famous Dawson City Cup challenge around the turn of the century. I read his copy that night in a rush, and it is the finest work of hockey fiction ever. Reddick stands with Ken Dryden as the most evocative hockey writer living. I have an autographed copy of my own now, and treasure it highly.

My first grader and his friend both checked out this book and couldn't put it down. They are both good readers and loved it. It is hard to find something that boys this age find exciting, but this was it. They read the whole book in a day. I had to see what was so neat about it so I read it and also enjoyed it. A great beginning chapter book for kids. They can't wait to read the other scaredy cats books.

"Dead Men's Letters" is a collection of six episodes originally published in Black Mask magazine during 1926-27. Each installment has enough background information to be read on its own, but there is a sequential continuity to the narratives.

Erle Stanley Gardner was in the business of writing. Born in 1989, Gardner was a practicing lawyer for some years before starting to write fiction at age 32. However, his productivity was stunning. Writing for the pulps in the early years, his output was in the range of one million words per year. Publishing his first novel at age 44, he wrote 82 novels featuring Perry Mason, 24 novels featuring Bertha Cool and Donald Lam (under the pseudonym of A. A. Fair), 13 non-fiction accounts of his explorations, and much more. Whew! Here was a man of energy with an amazing work ethic who assembled the right support staff to become the most read mystery writer in the world.

The hero in these stories is Ed Jenkins, wanted by law enforcement in several states and known as the "Phantom Crook." There are elements present here which were, or have since become, central within the hard-boiled detective genre: A lone hero on the outskirts of society; a code of ethics which champions the underdog; beautiful and adoring women; and the hero's knowledge that he will never enjoy love from a committed relationship or respectability in society.

These are plot-driven stories, and the action is nearly non-stop. The exploits are fast-paced - chases and escapes are in every episode. The speed of physical movement - of fist, foot or automobile - frequently drives the story. Still, Gardner's text has significantly more description of characters and their environment than was his style in the Perry Mason novels.

As an aside, there are some minor but annoying publishing errors. It seems to me that preserving and presenting these otherwise 'lost' stories was a worthy calling, but the occasional repeated paragraph or the randomly inserted paragraph break in the middle of a sentence detract from the quality of the book. If the publishers used acid-free paper, it is not so stated.

In terms of fun and excitement, this collection deserves five stars. The book in not great literature and the final chapter is distinctly over-the-top. However, the stories provide enjoyable adventures and offer insights into the early development of detective fiction. The work may not appeal to everyone, but there are delightful rewards for those who have a fondness for classic American entertainment and those interested in exploring some of the best writing from the pulps of the 1920's.

DiV is one of my favourite books, and an acknowledged masterpiece. This has translations of facing pages, for the aid of those (like me) who would find the German a bit too tough on its own.

This book has great pictures and lots of info. Great to read before our trip there.

I was one of the first individuals to buy this book as I couldn't wait for it's publication. I just finished reading it and I must say that the author again has written a masterpiece. Mr. Reminick, thanks again for your incisive prose and inside view of history. Love it.

This was required reading for a graduate course in medieval history.
The "Decameron" is a collection of 100 novellas by Italian author Giovanni Boccaccio, probably begun in 1350 and finished in 1353. It is a medieval allegorical work best known for its bawdy tales of love, appearing in all its possibilities from the erotic to the tragic. Other topics such as wit and witticism, practical jokes and worldly initiation also form part of the mosaic. Beyond its entertainment and literary popularity, it remains an important historical document of life in the fourteenth century.

Decameron is structured in a frame narrative, or frame tale. Boccaccio begins with a description of the Black Death and leads into an introduction of a group of seven young women and three young men who flee from plague-ridden Florence to a villa in the (then) countryside of Fiesole for two weeks. To pass the time, each member of the party tells one story for each one of the nights spent at the villa. Although fourteen days pass, two days each week are set aside: one day for chores and one holy day during which no work is done. In this manner, 100 stories are told by the end of the ten days. Each of the ten characters is charged as King or Queen of the company for one of the ten days in turn. This charge extends to choosing the theme of the stories for that day, and all but two days have topics assigned: examples of the power of fortune; examples of the power of human will; love tales that end tragically; love tales that end happily; clever replies that save the speaker; tricks that women play on men; tricks that people play on each other in general; examples of virtue. Only Dioneo, who usually tells the tenth tale each day, has the right to tell a tale on any topic he wishes, due to his wit. Each day also includes a short introduction and conclusion to continue the frame of the tales by describing other daily activities besides story telling. These frame tale interludes frequently include transcriptions of Italian folk songs. The interactions among tales in a day, or across days, as Boccaccio spins variations and reversals of previous material, forms a whole and not just a collection of stories. The basic plots of the stories including mocking the lust and greed of the clergy; tensions in Italian society between the new wealthy commercial class and noble families; the perils and adventures of traveling merchants. The title is a portmanteau, or combination of two Greek words meaning "ten" and "day". Boccacio made similar Greek etymological plays of words in his other works. The subtitle is Prencipe Galeotto, which derives from the opening material in which Boccaccio dedicates the work to ladies of the day who did not have the diversions of men (hunting, fishing, riding, falconry) who were forced to conceal their amorous passions and stay idle and concealed in their rooms. Thus, the book is subtitled Prencipe Galeotto, that is Galehaut, the go-between of Lancelot and Guinevere, a nod to Dante's allusion to Galeotto in "Inferno V", who was blamed for the arousal of lust in the episode of Paolo and Francesca.

Throughout Decameron, the mercantile ethic prevails and predominates. The commercial and urban values of quick wit, sophistication, and intelligence are treasured, while the vices of stupidity and dullness are cured, or punished. While these traits and values will seem obvious to the modern reader, they were an emerging feature in Europe with the rise of urban centers and a monetized economic system beyond the traditional rural feudal and monastery systems, which placed greater value on piety and loyalty. Beyond the unity provided by the frame narrative, Decameron provides a unity in philosophical outlook. Throughout runs the common medieval theme of Lady Fortune, and how quickly one can rise and fall through the external influences of the "Wheel of Fortune". Boccaccio had been educated in the tradition of Dante's Divine Comedy, which used various levels of allegory to show the connections between the literal events of the story and the hidden Christian message. However, Decameron uses Dante's model not to educate the reader, but to satirize this method of learning. The Roman Catholic Church, priests, and religious belief become the satirical source of comedy throughout. This was part of a wider historical trend in the aftermath of the Black Death, which saw widespread discontent with the church. Many details of the Decameron are infused with a medieval sense of numerological and mystical significance. For example, it is widely believed that the seven young women are meant to represent the Four Cardinal Virtues (Prudence, Justice, Temperance, and Fortitude) and the Three Theological Virtues (Faith, Hope, and Charity). It is further supposed that the three men represent the classical Greek tripartite division of the soul (Reason, Spirit, and Lust, see Book IV of Republic). Boccaccio himself notes that the names he gives for these ten characters are in fact pseudonyms chosen as "appropriate to the qualities of each". The Italian names of the seven women, in the same (most likely significant) order as given in the text, are: Pampinea, Fiammetta, Filomena, Emilia, Lauretta, Neifile, and Elissa. The men, in order, are: Panfilo, Filostrato, and Dioneo.

Recommended reading for anyone interested in literature and medieval history.

Wow! Despite some small qualms with the author regarding deleuze and popular music this book is right on. The ability of Mr. Buchanan to read deleuze outside current trends is amazing and breaths some much needed fresh air into deleuzian studies as a whole. Please do not be turned off by his claim of deleuze being in some respects a dialectitian since it is not the same dialectic that deleuze condemns throughout his work. Again if you are into deleuzian studies and are looking for a fresh interp. of how to read this amazing and insightful philosopher, this book should point you in the right direction.

Deetz is a scholars scholr, but relatively easy to read. In this particular book, he discusses what we all know, but have not been able to name. We are all part of organizations. We work in them. We play in them (think soccer leagues and such). We sleep on their products. We are surrounded, but corporate colonization is much more than just that.

You have a friend that moved to keep or get a job? Corporate colonization. Your emplyer's HMO lets you only pick a couple specialists for your health care needs? Corporate colonization. You bring your child to work because it provides daycare? Corporate colonization. You want to take a nice vacation and get away from it all, but you have to be on call in Tahiti? Corporate colonization. Unable to copy a cd you purchased for your own private use? Corporate colonization.

An educational system that trains children for employment, rather than teaching them how to think? Corporate colonization. A government that attempts to insure economic growth over pressing social issues? Corporate colonization?

Deetz, is not as redundent as I am in explicating this. He makes great points regarding the way that our everyday lives and everyday choices/answers are defined in line (and more unconsciously) with the way modern corporations frame the questions to begin with.

Excellent read, and amazingly enlightening. And Deetz isn't a Marxist, just a hard thinker.

I found this book to be a quick and easy read, and found it to be so helpful, it went on my Christmas list. I gave out thirteen copies to friends, coworkers, and members of my Bible Study! As you go through an experience it can be a daunting, as well as isolating experience. This book lets you know that God is right behind you with open arms, and that you can turn and lean on His strength, regardless of the circumstances of your trial.