Travis Books

This book gave great ideas on technique, however the authors style and poor writing take a lot away from his over all validity. This isn't the first Patrick Rice book that I have read that has great technical input, but just lacked a steady flow. I recommend that he should look into a better editor if he continues to write more books, which I hope he does. He is very talented, just not a strong writer.

Many examples of infrared images and a thorough explanation of each one that includes both technical and artistic qualities applied. From cover 2 cover it is great!!!!

I have read several of Patrick Rice's books. He is awesome. His books are very educational, and well writen. The way he writes it makes it easy to understand.

His work is the best. I personally love his infrared work best. He is truly inspiring to the rest of us Professional Photographers.

I have had the great pleasure of sitting in on one of his classes. GREAT!!!

I highly suggest you read this book if you are interested in infrared and wedding photography. Then I suggest you read several of his other books.
Especially his new book, Master Guide. You will learn ALOT.

This is by far the best book on infrared photography for the wedding photographer. Although some other wedding books I have touch on the topic, this one is complete. In great detail, every photo included is described with both technical information and the photographer's thoughts when creating the picture. This is a great book.

As one of the authors, I wanted to create a text that covered the art of infrared photography from the wedding photographer's point of view.

The images are from real weddings with real Brides and Grooms. Infrared photography provides a "dream-like" look to your images that can not be achieved any other way. I have found infrared wedding photography to be rewarding both artistically and financially. I hope it can do the same for you.

If the book was at least funny I'd cut it a break.

The pinnacle of Manhood is NOT a Sears' Wardrobe, a Super Cuts hairdo and a crazed envy of stylish guys who date super hot women. You can make fun of the Brad Pitts of the world all you want but last I checked they were dating the Jennifer Anistons and the Angelina Jolies. Scoreboard.

Guess what: I'm one of those guys dresses well, wears a bracelet, and gets his eyebrows waxed. I also like football, action movies and my drop dead gorgeous GF.

Being a Metrosexual doesn't mean giving up your manhood believe me. It simply means that your main priority is not trying to impress your ex-frat boy friends. Now if you'll excuse me I have a beautiful, amazing GF who requires my attention.

This is the ultimate guide to return us men to our rightful place as men. Clay Travis and the deadly hippos have created us a rulebook that if followed would make "men" men again.

The Deadly Hippos present a humor laden look into expected stereotyped essence of being a man. There's 975 entries on what it takes or doesn't take to be a man broken into categories of Bar/Restaurants, Women, Manicants, Sports, and everything else. Man: The Book is completely sarcastic but you know you will be using many of these lines with your buddies. This covers everything from picking up women, sexual exploits, mocking other men for not ordering the hottest items from a menu or throwing like a girl, wasting beer, there are two and only two classes of men (hetero and not, there is no such thing as metro and you're just fooling yourself if you think there is), nickname using, and for the love of all that is holy - never owning a cat (unless you can put a football helmet on it). However, some rules contradict other rules but you're not really expected to catch that.

Plain and simple, it's just darn funny. I laughed out loud so many times and had to read many rules to my wife and oldest son. It is adult based so the majority of the book is unsuitable for children but then, it's pretty sexist too yet all in good humor. Read it for what it is and laugh.

The book is obviously for men ages 18-35...and that's about the only demographic. If you take the book for what it is, which is complete and utter humor, it's great. My only argument would be that the book is set up numerically (in a list format), similarly to Dixieland Delight, but with many more entries. I didn't really like that aspect of the book. I found it much easier to put down because of this. But, all and all, a fun read that's something different.

This book hits on so many things that are wrong with the "modern" man. So many great quotable one liners.

Pop quiz time, everyone: what is more stressful than the prospect of having dinner with your fiance's ex-wife? Ask Melanie Travis, and she'll tell you the answer would be solving the woman's murder.

In this latest installment of the Melanie Travis mysteries, Laurien Berenson unleashes another engrossing story; this time the victim is the co-publisher of a new dog show gossip rag (the kind everybody in the community reads but won't admit to doing so). Melanie's involvement in solving the crime is requested by an unusual source, too -- her fiance Sam, whose opposition to this hobby has been more than vocal in past novels. That his ex-wife's death drives a wedge between the couple is an understatement, but Melanie can only hope the killer does not separate them permanently.

Depending on how attached you are to these characters, you may or may not like the ending of this one, however. I won't give it away, but I will say I was bummed at the outcome (not the mystery, but the personal subplot, you'll know when you get there). Since it will be a while until the next installment in this series, we'll have to wait and see if Melanie will be changing her last name.

With each book, Laurien Berenson gets better and better. I thoroughly enjoyed her latest book, Unleashed. Her mysteries are good, but I really think I read her books for the extreme enjoyment I get from her descriptions of life with her son and Faith, the poodle. The behind scenes look at what goes on and into a dog show are fascinating. Though I didn't exactly like the ending of Unleashed (as those of you who have already read it will know what I mean), I am looking forward to her next book and hearing what life is going to be like with a 6 year old, a 2 year old poodle and 6 poodle puppies. If you love dogs, don't pass this wonderful author by.

Laurien Berenson has done it again by delivering us this absolutely delightful book. This fast paced and suspensful novel is full of twists and turns that will keep everyone guessing. Her down-to-earth writing style will also make you feel right at home. This is the seventh installment in the series,and her writing just keeps getting better and better. This book is a real winner and you won't regret reading it. Enjoy!

I thought this Melanie Travis story was the best one yet. Berenson keeps getting better and better. It's hard to review this and not give away the things that are revealed in this edition--Sam's past, to be exact. There was less "dog show" in this book, but the detailed account of the birth of Faith's puppies was wonderful and satisfied the dog lover in me. You suspect that Melanie and Sam's relationship is coming to a climax, but I'll have to admit that the ending surprised me. I was prepared for a predictable ending. It was very touching and thoughtful--leaving me eager for the next in the series. Ms. Berenson, please don't wait too long.

Melanie Travis is back in another mystery. It's the dog days of summer, and our teacher/sleuth, Melanie, finds herself along with her beau, Sam, in the middle of a violent shake up among the dog breeders and showers created by the premiere of a new kind of dog magazine. If the first copy proves anything, it's that the underbelly of the dog show world isn't very pretty.

Sam's ex-wife, Shelia, a pug owner, has invited Melanie and Sam to dinner to announce her partnership in a new dog magazine called Woof! It's going to expose the dirt on the dog breeders and shows. Sam, being a breeder show-person himself has a problem with the magazine, and seeing Shelia back with their old friend Brian, who is owner of the new magazine and a Saint Bernard. While Sam is dealing with Shelia and Brian being back together, Melanie is dealing with Sam's feelings for his ex-wife, driving the soccer car pool for her son, and taking care of her pregnant standard poodle. It's a busy life for these characters and a busy mystery. The following Saturday is a show, and Sam's poodle puppy is showing. While at the show, they receive terrible news of a murder. Sam takes the murder pretty hard and flies off to Illinois to deal with the victim's family. While he is away, Melanie plays intrepid girl sleuth and rounds up a list of suspects for his return. Just when she thinks she figured it out, another murder takes place and leaves her scratching her head.

I have two pure breed dogs, but I know nothing about shows or breeding. And to prove it, I never registered our dogs, the Lhasa carries a poodle cut, and the miniature schnauzer has floppy ears. They were hand-me-downs from families who didn't want them. So, in reading this mystery, I've learned a lot from the drove of dog show information blended into the mystery. It was interesting without being distracting. The mystery itself was pretty good, and although I did have it solved right away, I still enjoyed reading the storyline and enjoyed watching the lead protagonist's personal life take on some changes. Speaking of the of the protagonist, the lead characters of Melanie, Sam, Aunt Peg, and Davy are likable; their relationships are realistic without being silly or over sweet. The sub-characters aren't left out of the action either. Each has an essential part in the mystery, whether it's to add more suspicion or to become a suspect. I sincerely think Laurien Berenson's fans will enjoy the undemanding epic called Unleashed in the Melanie series.

If you enjoy barking up this type of mystery tree, then you may also enjoy some similar canine mysteries by Susan Conant, Melissa Cleary, Carol Lea Benjamin, and Leslie O'Kane.

It seems to me that this book does not /quite/ reach the level of a great regimental history (what about the "reborn" fifth regimental history?). It seems to be much closer to a biography of Cross primarily, and a regimental history second. I have a copy of Child's 1893 regimental history, and it has far more detailed information about the regiment, and a pretty good overview about Cross as well.

My Brave Boys is readable, and seems quite solidly based, but reading the other reviews left me a bit befuddled - I didn't come away thinking it was as great a book as others seem to find. Your mileage may vary...

"May a grateful country do the Fifth New Hampshire Regiment of Volunteers justice-written history never can." - Major Otis Waite, New Hampshire in the Great Rebellion, 1886. Mike Pride & Mark Travis have done the Fifth New Hampshire proud. The authors take you from the small New Hampshire towns these men came from to the battlefields of Virginia, Maryland & Pennsylvania. They discuss in depth the relationships, good or bad, that the Fifth's commander,Col. Edward Cross,had with his subordinate officers and with his command. These two authors through their extensive research of the officers' and enlisted men's diaries,letters home and Col. Cross's own wartime journal tell of a very compelling human tragedy. You will get to know some of these men and Col. Cross. The Fifth New Hampshire Regiment of Volunteers suffered more deaths from combat than any other regiment in the Union Army. They were in the 2nd Corps (Hancock's Corp) of the Army of the Potomac. When the Fifth left Concord, NH in October of 1861 they were over 1000 men strong, after Gettysburg in July, 1863 they numbered less than 100 men. This book is the story of Cross and his men. Mike Pride and Mark Travis have told this story well. They have done New Hampshire proud.

With "My Brave Boys," authors Mike Pride and Mark Travis have set a new standard for throwing compelling illumination on a slice of the American Civil War. There've been sweeping works on the subject, military analyses, biographies and all the rest But the real untold story has been the war's impact on small communities, states and the men from them. Until now. Pride and Travis have turned their considerable journalistic skills -- both work at the Concord(NH) Monitor -- toward history, putting what amounts to a local news story in broader context. The result is highly readable, meticulously reported book. "My Brave Boys" should appeal to historical researchers, students of the Civil War and those with a more casual interest who just like a good yarn well-told. The media impact on the war and the men fighting it as told through New Hampshire newspaper editorials and accounts is an intriguing sidelight. We who grew up with Vietnam coming into our living rooms each night may appreciate more the ways in which war is brought home. For Americans, the Civil War was the first conflict to be so graphically displayed in word and picture to the general audience -- via newspapers and magazines such as Harper's Weekly. The authors have not ducked tough issues, such as the rampant racism and ethnic bias of the times. No sugar-coating of history here. The story of the 5th New Hampshire is haunting and so very human. It is a story of tragedy and triumph. And strikes a chord that continues to echo in our collective memory yet today.

"From the beginning, the story of the Fifth was not merely a war story, but mainly a human story," write Mike Pride and Mark Travis in their superb new book about the exploits of New Hampshire's legendary "Fighting Fifth" Regiment in the Civil War. In fact, it is the humsn dimension of their narrative that so distingishes it among Civil War accounts. Their extensive research into town and state archives, period news accounts, memoirs, and little-known letters takes them well beyond a catalogue of dates and skirmishes. Piecing together their sources to construct the unfolding events of the Fifth's experience, the authors give us rich insights into the personalities and thoughts of Colonel Cross and his men, showing us what war actually felt like to its participants from battle to battle, and from day to day. Not that war-making is this book's only subject. Some of its most affecting passages are from the letters written by soldiers to the wives and families they have left behind. In one striking chapter, the authors relate the surprising pronouncements the men of the Fifth made against the very blacks they were fighting to emancipate. While there is plenty to satisfy the student of the Civil War in the Fifth's story, told here for the first time, you don't have to be a Civil War buff to enjoy this volume. I'm not one myself; yet the fully developed characters and dramatic descriptions of events on the battlefield had me turning pages entranced. It's a wonderful book.

I've read what seems like a ton of books on the Civil War. It seems that there must be nothing left to learn, but of course that's not true, there's more. Two newspapermen from Concord, New Hampshire, are the latest entrants in the Civil War history competition, and their book, My Brave Boys: To War with Colonel Cross & the Fighting Fifth, is one of the best Civil War regimental histories ever written. It's amazingly well researched, wonderfully authentic, and well-enough written I was sorry it ended.

The Colonel Cross of the title was Edward E. Cross, a newspaperman from New Hampshire who had worked on newspapers in Ohio and Arizona before the war started. He was an American party member (the "Know-Nothings") and something of a bigot, but very strong-minded on the subject of the preservation of the Union. When the Civil War began, he immediately returned to New Hampshire, and through political connections was given command of the state's Fifth regiment. He immediately recruited as many experienced soldiers as he could, turned them into drillmasters, and began to transform his crowd of farmers and townsmen into soldiers.

The training paid off. In its first fight, the regiment acted as if it were composed of veterans, and the authors make it clear that it didn't lose this composure until long after Cross' death at Gettysburg, when it was weakened by draftees (from other states even!) who didn't want to fight, and weren't properly trained. The heart of the book follows the regiment through its baptism of fire in the Seven Days, the Second Bull Run campaign, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, and Gettysburg, where as I said, Cross was killed. The narrative keeps you apprised of the course of the battle well enough that you understand the context of the regiment's actions and the opinions of the participants, without bogging down, and the battles themselves are recreated here as well as it's ever been done. The authors have, through contacts they have in the state, found several people who have collections of letters from participants to relatives back home. These give the narrative an immediacy and authenticity that might otherwise have been lacking.

Lastly, the maps are gorgeous. This is the sort of thing that's difficult to do in a book like this, and often you're presented with a blurry recreation of something from the era, overburdened with detail and almost illegible. The authors made a happy choice in allowing Charlotte Thibault, who's apparently the newsroom illustrator at the paper they both work at, to draw the maps. She's done a marvelous job: they convey the situation in the battles, and the Fifth's position and actions in the fighting, while being clear and easy to understand.

Pride and Travis have produced one of the best books on the Civil War in a good while. It'll be interesting to see if they have anything else up their sleeves.

I was looking for a mystery book and came across this book. I like how Berenson keeps you guessing until the end. You think you know who committed the crime, but she leaves you with a little doubt. Berenson adds humor with the antics of her son and Aunt Peg and a little romance with Sam. This book has a little of everything. I like her mystery books, because they are not gruesome as some mysteries are.

Not being a cat-lover, I was unimpressed with Berenson's play to capture a corner of the cat-mystery market. And I couldn't help but wonder if one of the new characters introduced in this book--an underdressed but overly endowed (with misbehaving cats) neighbor with a curiously absent husband--will reappear. Perhaps as a love interest or tormentor for Melanie's ex-husband, who now lives in Melanie's old house.

This book--like so many of Kensington Press's--suffers from lazy editing. On page 122, for example, one minor character, a habitue of the posh nursing home that figures in the mystery, mourns the loss of her large ("big as a grape") ruby ring. But by page 283, readers wonder if Melanie's hanging around with old people throughout the book has affected HER memory, because she refers to the character's missing "ruby brooch." I know, I know, this is nitpicking and not germane to the mystery. But the truth is, when I read this kind of ephemera (and I do all the time), the most fun of all is not the light-weight mysteries, but the search for these kind of hidden gems. Unfortunately, Kensington makes this game almost too easy for the reader. I wish this press would better serve its writers and spend a little more time, effort and cash on proper editing. But then I'd be out a game!

I have always really enjoyed the books in this series. That made my disappointment w/this one all the more--well, disappointing. The obedience class members were thrown in and never really developed. The "old" people at the nursing home were treated in much the same way. The new characters were static and two-dimensional. Add to that what seems to have been the obligatory sexual innuendoes and I just did not find this book as enjoyable as the previous ones. If this book were the first one read, I doubt that I would have bought another. As it is, I'll hope this was just a glitch.

Seeking a way to escape the influence of her dominating aunt, Melanie Travis, and her champion poodle Faith, sign up for dog obedience classes. The class is a hotbed of rumor and past affairs, but they do one good thing--they visit a senior housing center weekly to let the residents visit with their dogs. Meanwhile, Melanie's life is getting very complicated with a new husband, her seven-year-old son, and five poodles living in a very small house, plus a job where one of her fellow teachers seems unduely interested in a well developed, but still 12-year-old seventh grader. Then there's the sexy neighbor with cats and a permanently missing husband.

On her first visit to the senior housing campus, one of the guests dies--and the police discover it is murder. Recognizing Melanie's history of solving mysteries, her fellow obedience school members urge her to discover the killer. With a bit of pressure, and some help, from her aunt, Melanie sets off to do just that.

Author Laurien Berenson maintains a light tone, provides lots of information about dog training and showing, if not so much about the mysteries she's solving, and recognizes the importance of personal life in her sleuth. Indeed, half the fun is watching Melanie solve mysteries between running around with her dogs, trying to keep her son entertained, exploring the sexy side of her new marriage, and dealing with an overcrowded life.

RAINING CATS AND DOGS is an enjoyable story. I would have liked to see a bit more sleuthing and mystery mixed in with the 'life of Melanie Travis,' but that didn't keep RAINING from being an enjoyable story. Dog-lovers, in particular, will appreciate Berenson's attention to the interaction between dogs and their human-companions.

I love this series and look forward to every new book - my sister and I both read the Melanie Travis books and love them! We both show dogs (not poodles) so can relate to all the dog show references - most of which are accurate! This is a very entertaining series and I hope Ms.Berenson writes lots more Melanie Travis mysteries.

This book is a must-have for telecommunications professionals. It covers topics ranging from telecom history to the lastest technologies including wireless and Voice Over IP. For the novice, this book is written in a simple to understand format that you can learn complex topics in minutes. Great illustrations and creative graphics make understanding the complicated topics simple. Two Thumbs Up!

Clear, precise and straightforward

This book gives you a very good overview in important telecommunication technologies. It's a good book to start with for people new to the field.

If you need a reference book this is a good one. It is not detailed enough to be used by professional, but it is useful to students. The Cellular Networks,ATM and SONET parts are not the best. LAN related parts are quite good.

If you are a non-technical person (I am a lawyer, with zero mathematical or engineering background) and looking for a place to begin learning about telecommunications technologies, here's the book. I had gone through at least a half-dozen "basic" telecom technology books, and found that they would invariably lapse into techno-speak; creating large gaps in my understanding of the subject matter. Not so here. The author is very patient with his readers. When a concept is important, he says so, takes his time, and uses good examples from the everyday world (i.e. analogies to travel agents) to help bring his readers along.

I loved the book. It's a great mystery, with colorful characters. I love the whole series. It's also a fun book, and it's not full of dark or gruesome scenes like some murder mysteries. I would recommend to anybody who likes mysteries.

Combining great detail of the dog fancy with a mystery which keeps you turning the pages into the wee hours of the night, WATCHDOG again shows that Ms Berenson is the best in the class of dog-mystery writers.

What a great book! This is one of the best dog mysteries out there. The characters are incredibly real (I think I saw Melanie and her son in Central Park the other day.... hm...) and the pacing was wonderful. It was a book you couldn't put down. And even though I'm not really into the Sam-Melanie thing, I was excited to see them become a little more committed! My only qualm would be to give Faith a little more of a pronounced personality to really make her come alive. Other than that, I can't stress the greatness of this series!!

Loved reading this one before bed. More twists and turns than usual and her characters have become like real people to me. Love the referrals to dog shows and training,grooming, etc.since I got my Standard Poodle. Even if I don't ever end up showing her, I can dream...

Funny how we don't hear much from Melanie Travis's brother Frank in her previous mystery adventures. We know he exists, and we've seen him a few times during family get-togethers; all the same, I'm sure Melanie prefers not to have him around, for when he is he's either raiding her refrigerator or asking for money. In Watchdog, Frank is asking for much more: he wants his sister to help clear his name when a business associate is murdered.

Frank's latest big venture in a string of failed jobs and prospects is a coffee bar in a nearby Connecticut township. Locals are protesting the business, and one would that was the worst of Frank's worries. Then his financial backer turns up dead on the construction site, and Melanie -- whose hands are full with dog shows, a new job, and a marriage proposal (finally!) from Sam -- must come to the rescue.

Berenson is always a delight to read, with fun characters and lessons in dog grooming. Watchdog is no exception; watch out for this one and for Melanie's future exploits.

This is a 750 page, 9 chapter guide to learning how to use Inventor 10.
The cover categorises the user level as beginner-intermediate, and that assessment seems realistic.

I have so far worked through 4 chapters/200 pages. Each chapter has taken about 3-4 hours to read the information, and do the exercises. The later chapters are longer. The layout is generally clear, logical and comprehensible.
The only exception is chapter one, which required several readings and revisits before I started to make sense of the file types and file organisation.

The attached CD installed and worked without a hitch.

The exercises so far are fairly easy, and interesting, and nicely demonstrate the intended points.

The user interface of Inventor 10 bears little resemblance to AutoCAD, and AutoCAD users will require an open mindset to learn how to use it. For a start, there is no command line. It is almost entirely mouse controlled, with some input from keyboard shortcuts and function keys.

The book itself has a quality feel, and despite its 750 pages, is easy to handle. The index is comprehensive. I expect that it will be a very useful reference manual.

I have used quite a few software instruction manuals over the years, and I would say that this is the most impressive one yet. Recommended.

The book is a great reference as well as a great knowledge center for the program. I am new to Autodesk Inventor but not CAD. The books helps greatly with location of the different features and how they operate. An excellent book.

I've just bought the book and have started learning Inventor 10. I started on page 1 and went on and so far it's been a great book for a person not knowing anything about Inventor. It's very educational correct, at least what I think. If this keeps up it will be a great book, so far I'm in chapter 3.
So far I can really recommend the book.

Still the best book out there for whoever is serious about learning the essentials of Autodesk Inventor 10, the basics are well covered in detail, the examples and tutorials are to the point, and the effort is honest and impressive, the "Plus" part however, could have been expanded further, Inventor 10 has a lot of new advanced features that are of great value to the engineers and designers, hopefully the authors will get together and complete their excellent work by issuing an "Advanced" book.

This book is a combination reference and how-to manual for Inventor 10. The book is helpful for both the novice and the power-user who wishes to understand the new features of this version of the software. Although some of the material in the book is also in Inventor's help and tutorial system, there is also some helpful original material on advanced modeling techniques as well as basic sketching and modeling. The book makes generous and appropriate use of screen captures to aid in the understanding of the concepts presented. The tutorials are presented in clear numbered steps and there are exercises along the way to test your understanding of techniques and commands. These exercises appear to be helpful, complete, and accurate. I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in Inventor 10. The table of contents is as follows:

1. Getting Started - Talks about the "Getting Started" screen, reasons for which a project file is used, how to create a project file for a single user, different file types used in Inventor, and application options.

2 Sketching, Constraining, and Dimensioning - Teaches how to change the sketch and part options as needed, sketch the outline of a part, create geometric constraints, dimension a sketch, create dimensions using the automatic dimensioning tool, change a dimension's value in a sketch, and import AutoCAD DWG data.

3. Creating and Editing Sketched Features - Explains what a feature is, how to use the Inventor Browser to edit parts, how to extrude or revolve a sketch into a part, editing features of a part, editing the sketch of a feature, making an active sketch on a plane, and creating sketched features using the cut, join, or intersect operation.

4. Creating Placed Features - Shows how to create fillers, chamfers, holes, work axes, work points, work planes, and internal and external threads.

5. Creating and Editing Drawing Views - This chapter helps you understand the drawing options and styles. You also learn to create and edit drawing borders and title blocks. The creation of base and projected drawing views from a part is discussed as well as the creation of auxiliary, section, detail, broken, break-out, draft, and perspective views. You'll learn how to edit the properties and locations of drawing views and how to retrieve model dimensions to use in drawing views.

6. Creating and Documenting Assemblies - This chapter discusses the various assembly options, and the creation of bottom-up assemblies, top-down assemblies, subassemblies, and adaptive parts. It discusses how to constrain components together using assembly constraints, and how to edit those assembly constraints. Finally, you learn how to pattern components in an assembly.

7. Advanced Sketching and Constraining Techniques - This chapter shows how to use construction geometry to help constrain sketches. It also shows how to create an ellipse, 2D spline, and a pattern of sketch geometry. You'll learn how to share a sketch, utilize the symmetry constraint and mirror tool, slice the graphics window, sketch on another parts face, change the display of dimensions, create relationships between dimensions, create parameters, and finally create a part that is driven by an Excel spreadsheet.

8. Advanced Part Modeling Techniques - This chapter teaches you how to extrude an open profile, create ribs, webs, and rib networks, emboss text and profiles, create sweep, coil, and loft features, split parts or faces of parts, copy features within a part, and reorder those part features.

9. Sheet Metal Design - This final chapter is a "capstone" which builds on knowledge of the previous eight. You learn how to use the Inventor sheet metal environment, modify settings for the sheet metal design, create sheet metal parts, modify sheet metal parts to match design requirements, create sheet metal flat patterns, and create drawing views of a sheet metal part.

Gave this to my husband for his birthday after seeing the artist etc. on a TV show. He was thrilled, the pictures were really sharp and clear and it made for very interesting reading. Just loved it.

I purchased this book for my husband as a gift. He wanted it to put on our coffee table. The cover of the book has a crease down the middle of it. After what I paid for this book, is there anyway I can exchange it for one that does not have a crease down the middle.

Thank you.

Lisa Mitchell

The paintings are incredibly beautiful and text is informative. Great
coffee table book for a sports fisherman and lover of art.

bought for a christmas gift...and was perfect. shipping, packaging, price!

thanks

Once and awhile a book comes along that touches your senses and raises your emotions, FISH is just such a book. Flick Ford's beautiful watercolors of the 77 fish species are the best since S.F.Denton did his over 100 years ago. These complimented by the moving and lighthearted text of Dean Travis Clarke as well as Peter Kaminsky's introduction make this book sure to be a timeless classic. It's the type of book the reader can pick up at any time and turning to any page leave ourselves to go to that place inside that brings us all the peace we experience streamside, casting into a rolling surf, or trolling a pattern offshore. FISH is a perfect book, and anyone who even remotely loves the sport of angling or appreciates these amazing creatures should have a copy in their library and one wrapped as a gift for that special angling friend.

Take the phone off the hook, turn off the computer. You won't want to be interrupted on your journey with Birtcher's haunted and charismatic Mike Travis as he searches for a missing teenager on the Big Island of Hawaii. Despite the lush and fascinating setting, this thriller reveals a cruel subculture that is all too familiar.

Mike Travis, a retired Los Angeles police detective, now lives in Hawaii running a scuba charter business. Approached by friends of a missing teenage girl, he agrees to try to find the girl, but in his way are some road blocks, deception, and in the middle of this, his wife, his own darkness, and the sudden appearance of a spoiled nephew create some interesting side-plots.
All in all, the book was slow in catching my interest, but towards the middle of the book I felt the real story was beginning. I had to stay up late to finish it to the very end. The unnecessary expletives distracted me from the story. I felt the author was very good in his descriptions and dialogue and the rough edges of Mike Travis were adequately described without the use of cuss words. The trial described at the beginning of the book was unnecessary and distracting as well as the car exploding came and went without really getting back to it. Several times I had to go back and re-read a few paragraphs. Overall, this author is a great writer with the ability to bring out the character by showing rather than telling. I would like to see other titles of this author.

Nikole Hahn

I loved this book for several reasons. The Hawaii setting, the story within the story and mostly how I was able to connect with the charaters. There is a little of Mike Travis in all of us.

It was a pleasure having "Angels Fall" take place in Hawaii and not the usual New York, Miami, LA scene. Mike Travis, former LA cop, owns and helps run a coffee plantation. Usually Travis avoids any type of police-related work but at the insistence of a good friend he is persuaded to look into the disappearance of a teenage girl. Delving in to this mystery causes Travis to reflect back to his teenage years which cause mental wounds from his past to be reopened. A resident of Hawaii, Baron A. Birtcher gives first-hand, detailed descriptions of the many different landscapes of this state. Birtchers has a casual and relaxed writing style that makes his book very readable. Using well placed flashbacks, Mike Travis' haunted past is slowly revealed and explains why his current case has such a strong effect on him. Mike Travis is a down -to-earth and plausible character and I hope this is not the last we see of him.

Mike Travis is a man with hidden hurts, but one whose heart appears to embrace and give love and caring, out of his own need for love, to others. He comes from a very wealthy family, one that he never sees anymore, but often wishes things could have been different. He lies in Hawaii, is retired from Law Enforcement, but it always remains a part of him, even though now he has a scuba charter business.
In this read we find a young girl is missing, and Mike is asked by her friends to investigate. Feeling obliged to help, he is drawn into the lives of some of the young people on the Island. Lives filled with lies, drugs and sex, a life that sickens him. What he discovers is not pleasant and will rock this part of the Island, and awaken many to the realization that evil does exist, even in Hawaii.
I enjoyed this read. The author did a top-notch job at his description and portrayal of Mike Travis. Making him a likeable guy; one whose heart is wanting what is right for people, and frustrated that it can't always be obtained. The cast of players in this read were also described well, and the locals were vivid. The storyline had a good emotional pull, concerning family and friends. I liked that, it brought the characters down to earth and alive. Yet, the story also gave way to the mysterious as you watched the mystery unfold, bringing you to one surprising conclusion. Quite a good mix. All in all a very good story and one I recommend.