Travis Books

A good book. Gives all sides to Diversity issues and is coupled with many first hand articles that are very interesting. Definetly worth a read if you're interested in issues of diversity.

Very interesting book, great perspective from lots of different authors on diverse social issues such a racial inequality, gender, and sexual orientation. The framework essays are also particularly interesting - I highly recommend it for anyone interested in sociological issues!

This book is great for anyone who is interested in questions like why do we as Americans' see white people and black people differently. It answers questions like this for gender, race, ethnicity and disability. The first chapter is terribly dry but it sets the stage for the rest of the book which is very insightful.
(There's a bit of good history in here as well).

This book gives a very broad and encompassing look at many of the topics that contribute to and affect diversity and differences in America today.

This book is absolutely fabulous. I had the honor of taking Prof. Rosenblum's class, which is great to use the book that she helped compose. I think this book is great in a scholastic setting, alone it might seem scattered and incongruent. With the class there comes discussions and lectures, also there were associated readings from the internet that helped focus students as well. The most important parts of the book are the framework essays, because they really explain a prominent sociological perspective that this book uses, the social constructionist paradigm. I hope that people can read this book and take away the important aspects from it, but not think that this book is particularly suited for coffee shop reading. It is a textbook meant for a classroom with heavy interaction from the teacher and students.

Bob is back in town and there are wedding bells a'ringin! The only negative part of this is that the wedding bells are not for Melanie and Sam - they are for Frank and Bertie. Sam, as a matter of fact, has disappeared: he decided that he needed to go "find himself". So, Melanie is unsure of what to do and where to go with her life. Which is when Bob decides to come back from Texas after divorcing his 20 year old wife and try to rekindle the romance with Melanie. Part of this book deals with these complications in the love life of Melanie Travis and the turmoil caused by all of this.

The other parts of the book deal with the mystery. You see, one of Bertie's friends is a bit of a flighty person whom Bertie decides to help by hiring her to be the wedding coordinator for Bertie's wedding. Almost immediately following the beginning of the work - and with only six weeks remaining until the wedding itself - Sara Bentley disappears. Then, a woman's body is found in Sara's home which had just burned down. Bertie is frantic, she asks Melanie to help, and off to the races we go!

The third part of this book has to do with Melanie's dog Faith and her quest to win enough points in the dog show circuit to become a Champion. As is usual with these mysteries featuring Melanie Travis, the dog show circuit and the people and personalities involved with it provide the background story to a lot of the action. Faith and the other dogs are very key contributors to the mayhem.

So, how do these three story lines mesh together in one book? Very well. This is a very readable, very enjoyable, member of the series with all the puzzles and interaction well thought out and logical. All that is, but for one last one. The last puzzle in this book is solved in a very thematic way for the series, but in a way that is completely out of character for one of the main characters of the story. That is why I gave this book only 4 stars. Nonetheless, I think that all of Laurien Berenson's fans will really enjoy this book and be looking forward to the next installment. I certainly will be!

ONCE BITTEN brings back most of the familiar characters from previous Berenson tales (with a puzzling omission -- what happened to Aunt Peg's Douglas? He's missing in action here), and moves their relationships along nicely. However, there's so much going on -- the impending marriage of main character Melanie's brother and ravishing trainer Bertie (short for Alberta), the reappearance of Melanie's ex-husband, the move into judging for Aunt Peg, "finishing" Melanie's poodle's championship -- that the mystery seems more of an afterthought than the main event. Also, there's not much mystery -- the pointers to the guilty parties are pretty pointed. As always, the dog show segments are the most realistic, but the Christmas Eve chapter at the end is well worth the price of admission.

Melanie Travis tries to deal with her disappearing fiance when her future sister-in-law's wedding planner, Sara, also disappears and Melanie's ex-husband suddenly reappears and wants to play in Melanie's life. Melanie settles for sleuthing to find the missing Sara--only to discover that plenty of people want her to stay missing. They just might get their wish when Sara's house burns down and a woman's body is found inside.

What's best about this novel is the dogs. Melanie shows her standard poodle Faith and is working on 'finishing' her, i.e., achieving champion rank. When Melanie goes to the dogs, ONCE BITTEN goes well indeed. When Melanie fixates on men, I was tempted to roll my eyes--I mean, get on with it.

The mystery plays a third fiddle to Melanie's dog problems and her men problems. Fortunately, she doesn't have to do much to solve it.

Author Laurien Berenson's light tone, her wonderful descriptions of the dog shows and of dog people, and of the relationship between Melanie, her son, her aunt, her dogs, and her future sister-in-law make ONCE BITTEN a pleasure to read despite its flaws.

If you read the previous Melanie Travis mystery, Unleashed, and you are like me, you were likely disappointed to see Melanie's fiance Sam take off for an undetermined time following his ex-wife's murder for reflection and what-not. Berenson, however, appeases us in Once Bitten by fulfilling the promise of a wedding -- that of Melanie's brother Frank.

While she is happy to see her brother maturing into a responsible businessman and committing himself to dog trainer/knockout Bertie Kennedy, Melanie is still nursing the wounds of her breakup. When Bertie's flighty wedding planner, part-time trainer Sara, mysteriously disappears, Melanie finds there is no time left to cry over spilt engagements when Bertie pleads with her to find Sara...and help plan a wedding while she's doing that.

Berenson injects quite a dose of romance in this installment when in the midst of all this chaos, ex-husband Bob returns to town, clearly bitten by the reconciliation bug. I have to admit, Melanie's divided loyalties between maintaining a stable home life for son Davey (who is ecstatic to have his father so close) and yearning for her missing true love made for better suspense than the actual mystery, the disappearance and even more bizarre reappearance of Sara, a character I came to like less and less as the story progressed.

I have enjoyed the Melanie Travis series since its inception, but with Once Bitten I fear Berenson may be hitting her stride. However, the weaknesses detected in the actual mystery (the aforementioned Sara and her conflicts with her even less likable parents...Melanie herself admits she can't stand them) are bolstered by the compelling subplot. I certainly hope for the next book the mystery will be a bit meatier (no pun intended).

In the latest Melanie Travis mystery, her fiance Sam has gone off to find himself after the death of this exwife and former friend, leaving Melanie in the lurch. On the bright side, her brother Frank is about the marry Bertie, dog handler and friend of Melanie. Faith finally gets her second and final major, finishing her championship(her daughter Eve looks like a winner also). In the midst of all this, Bertie wants Mel to help with her wedding plans. She's hired a flakey dog groomer/handler/rich kid to do all the arrangements, so Mel wonders why. Then, ex husband Bob shows up six weeks before the wedding, newly divorced from his very young bride, looking to get back together with Mel. Then the wedding planner disappears and her cottage on her mother's estate burns down. A young woman's body is found in the ruins. Is it Sara the wedding planner? Who burned the cottage? Mel is determined to find out. This is the best of all her mysteries. Ms. Berenson has a gift for giving the reader a good mystery and not losing the dog show background. This book will appeal to readers who have no idea what is involved in the dog world, the characters and mystery are that good. I learn a little more with each book. Hopefully, Mel's trip to the obedience ring as a spectator will lead her in that direction also.

This is not what I expected at all. It is not related to the books like Dewey Labdin or Patrick O'Brian - no real naval action. Too many ethereal happenings.

Marryat not be the best writer of the 19th century but he may be one of the best sea writers of all time. After all, he was there with Nelson and in the Navy for twenty years. This book is strongest at sea. The ending would not be acceptable in this day and age when heroes are invariably rewarded for their efforts with happiness and the girl (see the last Harry Potter book) but that's more of a good thing. Definitely not ready for the cinema, but worth a quick perusal in your spare time.

Captain Marryat's Phantom Ship is a masterpiece of nauticle fiction which is intertwined with superstition, elements of the supernatural, and Catholic dogma. Through the adventures of protagonist Philip Vanderdecken, we unravel the legend behind the maritime mystery of the Flying Dutchman, a phantom ship destined to sail about the Cape of Good Hope until the day of judgement.

This is a fine seafaring adventure tale filled with plenty of cutthroat action and an array of memorable characters, specifically that of Schriften who is largely reminiscent of the character of Old Pew from Stevenson's Treasure Island. One cannot but wonder if Stevenson was influenced by this ghastly tome of nautical lore as there are other similarities to be found between these two superb tales.

More importantly however, Phantom Ship is a moralistic tale detailing the holy pilgrimage of one man pitted against evil, in all of its manifestations, in his quest to save his father's soul from eternal damnation.

Once upon a time, somewhere in the middle of the XVII century, Mynheer Captain Vanderdecken defied God and brought a curse of the Heavens on himself and his crew, to sail in doom and suffering until the Day of Judgment, bringing despair and death to encountered seamen, unless the holy relic is offered to him, for that is the only chance of forgiveness for Captain Vanderdecken. The phantom ship thus haunts the Cape, later to be know as the Cape of Hope, at the southern outskirts of Africa, but of course, since it's no longer of this earth, it may appear anywhere at the wild seas, serving as a fatal prophecy of disaster. The captain's wife keeps the secret to herself, until one day her son is grown enough to make a decision to go to sea. Frightened out of her wits, the widow reveals the secret, and thus Philip Vanderdecken learns that his fate, his destiny, is to find his doomed father and salvage his soul from eternal hell. And so begins the most revered nautical tale of adventure, a literary account of the Flying Dutchman legend, written by Captain Marryat, the man who spent the best years of his life at the seas in the service of the United Kingdom. Written in the first half of the XIX century, when the literary form of the novel was in its toddler stage, "The Phantom Ship" is astoundingly modern in expression, although the language is often very ancient. Together with the protagonists, we sail around the Cape, we travel around the globe through the Magellan straits dividing the savage land of Patagonia from Terra del Fuego, the door to the Antarctic; in a never-ending series of breathtaking adventures we discover the nautical world of the XVII century, where the Indian and Atlantic Oceans with the surrounding shores were the battlefield where Portugal, Holland, Spain and England fought for domination. Despite the fact that this text will soon be two hundred years old, I can guarantee that you will read this novel more than once, simply because good adventure never gets old, and the ancient world of wooden ships is as enchanting as ever. And then there are the historical and theological aspects of the book. Needless to say, in the mid XVII century the Holy Inquisition was at the peak of its power. "The Phantom Ship", the mythical tale of the Flying Dutchman, is also contextually rich, and offers a plausible, though grim, portrayal of the times. The books is thus serious, analytical, well-researched, and enriched by the author's personal experiences - in addition to the invariably entertaining and often horrifying tale of the cursed ship. The century which just passed was the century of the imperfect man, with atrocities and weaknesses in the spotlight, and it's indeed refreshing to read a novel where it's a perfectly natural phenomenon that all things are in place, men were men and women weren't; and the words, terms and descriptions hadn't lost their original meaning yet. This novel is guaranteed to entertain, do not hesitate to pick it up.

As might be expected from an 18th. Century adventure novel, Captain Marryat's _The Phantom Ship_ has about 5 times the requisite action, and (up to the conclusion) about 1/5 the requisite character development. However, I rather enjoyed Captain Marryat's rendering of female lead Amine, a strong woman such as would not be found in the fiction of, say, a century later. Marryat's rendering of the complex and (we would say) confused Father Mathias is also good. And whatever the weaknesses in Marryat's development of his central character, Philip Vanderdecken, all must be forgiven in the light of the last 30 or so pages and Philip's final confrontation with his nemesis, Schriften. All in all, quite a book.

If you are looking for a book that keeps you on the edge of your seat and wanting more then you have definitely found it. This book is a great fantasy about the battle between good and evil. There are so many twists and turns, the action just never stops. It seems like every time I turned the page there was another surprise waiting for me. There is something for everyone in this wonderful story...science fiction, religion, action, romance, sex, and suspense. I look forward to this author's next novel!

Michael's novel is an interesting and rewarding experience to read. It kept me entertained and waiting to see what would happen next. The characters were well definied and the plot very interesting. I would highly recommend this novel to all science fiction lovers.

I would rank this book along with Buffy the Vampire Slayer as being excellent examples of pop culture's fascination with the battle between good and evil. Michael's book is a fantasy, in that it presents to us a picture of an inclusive and tolerant world. I happen to share his hope; but, if you do not come at the book with the same view, I don't think you'll be won over by it, unfortunately. As with every good book I've read, I've found a piece of myself in every character, so much so that I was sad to come to its conclusion and take leave of them. The cover art is in itself worth the price of the book; I just wish a hardbound copy of it would have been available. We can expect more good things from this author.

This first novel by a very gifted author is amazing. His ability to surpass social mores and develop unique characters that give every reader something to indentify with makes this book such an uplifting pleasure to read. From the moment you meet each character individually, you are drawn into their world. You feel the passion and personal struggles each one faces. When the characters meet and take the story to a more spiritual level, Michael brings in more of a fantasy genre that keeps you anticipating the next page. The book leaves you with such an overall positive feeling of love for others and love for God; for aren't we all chosen to lead with love?

i cannot even begin to describe how awful this book is, no sentence structure, the plot is convoluted beyond imagination, and its a though a thirteen year old wrote it...there is absolutely no redeeming quality to the book in anyway....

Truth be told, I'm glad I was given this book instead of purchasing it.

Truth Be Told: Tales of Life, Love and Drama is a collection of short stories by male authors. Despite the title, I did not find this collection to posses a common theme. Where was the love? Where was the drama? One story wasn't even told from the male perspective. With most anthologies, you end up with some really good stories and then a few that don't hold their own against the others. Not here. Overall, the stories lacked excitement, pizzazz, and intrigue. In fact, I found most of them to be flat out dull and boring. I continued reading in hopes that the next story would be better. I knew I would find salvation in the last story by Jonathan Luckett, the author I am most familiar with from this collaboration. I was wrong. His story was as disappointing as the rest. Nane Quartay's "The Beautiful Ones" was decent at best and the only glimpse of hope in this otherwise lackluster read. I normally finish an anthology looking to read the full length novels of the authors new to me. That was definitely not the case here.

I give this book two stars, generously, for effort.

Michael T. Owens has compiled and edited a collection of works from the perspective of male authors, focusing on life, love, and relationships, which of course, includes the drama that comes with it. With stories centering around fidelity versus infidelity, facing decisions of the past, a good relationship gone bad, obsession with another's lover, and many other angles; TRUTH BE TOLD is a collection in which readers will find something to meet their fancy. Opening with an introduction by fiction writer, Travis Hunter, the book's goal is immediately brought to the forefront. In addition to Owens' story, the collection includes stories by Robert Fleming, Kenji Jasper, Robert L. Anderson, James Lewis, V. Anthony Rivers, Nane Quartay, Eric James Fullilove, Edwardo Jackson, and Jonathan Luckett.

TRUTH BE TOLD demonstrates that men think on a range of levels and emotions. While I didn't necessarily enjoy every story in this collection, I did appreciate the intent for compiling such a range of styles, thoughts, and writing capabilities. In writing short stories, it is sometimes too hard to compose all the good characteristics of a good story in so few pages. This was a case with a few of the stories as the reader is left wondering why a character acted as they did or how the obstacles posed ended. I would like to see some of them in actual full-length novels to see the character development and each author's specific writing brought to the forefront. It was good though to be introduced to lesser known authors and revisit some of the well-known ones.

Owens is to be commended for pulling together such a varied cast of writers, which will hopefully bring more male readers into the fold as well as assist the opposite sex in understanding somewhat how interactions with men can play themselves out. As shown through this book, open and honest communication is a truly important aspect of relationships.

Reviewed by Tee C. Royal
of The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers

Truth Be Told is a refreshing collection of stories by today's hottest male writers. "Driving While Black" by Robert Fleming is about a man who confronts his past during an unusual traffic stop. Michael T. Owens' "Ties That Bind" features a man in a strange love triangle. Kenji Jasper's "Dawn" gives readers a tease of the forthcoming sequel to his riveting novel Dark. "The Harrisburg Tease" by Robert L. Anderson is about a struggling artist who wants to give his client more than art. "Sinfidelity" by James Lewis follows a married man in Las Vegas that struggles to stay faithful. V. Anthony Rivers tells a tale of love gone sour in "Last Remnants Of A Good Situation." Step into the seedy life of a porn star in Nane Quartay's "The Beautiful Ones." " For That Quiet Time Of Day" by Eric James Fullilove takes a humorous look at the day in the life of an account executive. Edwardo Jackson tells about a woman's horrible emotional state when her boyfriend disappears in "Postcards From Hell." Jonathan Luckett tells a shocking psychological tale about a man's fascination with his friend's wife in "The Object Of His Obsession."

Truth Be Told is a wonderful anthology told from the Black male perspective. Michael T. Owens did an outstanding job of editing all of these varying stories together. This collection should be enjoyed by all that have a chance to read it.

I enjoy anthologies because I like reading stories by different authors. Between my sister and me we've read just about every anthology out from Zane, Triple Crown, Urban books, and all of the major publishers. I found Truth Be Told to be the most well rounded yet! These stories have just the right mix of EVERYTHING you could want-drama, sex, politics, humor, psychology, romance, etc. Any of them could be a book by themselves. I can tell each author put a great deal of thought into their work. If anybody gives awards for anthologies Truth Be Told should get it!!! My sister and I both thought it was refreshing to see positive Black men doing something constructive with their talents. We were familiar with Kenji Jasper, Michael T. Owens, Travis Hunter and the Strebor Books authors in the anthology, but we were introduced to new authors we didn't know. I know I'll definitely check out their other books. This book left a smile on my face. It might leave one on yours too.

It's still a rarity to find African-American male fiction authors, so when I read one that I like, I latch on. Although disappointed that Travis Hunter, one of my favorite authors, had no story contributions in here, I looked forward to the other offers. One of the most onpoint entries in this book was from Kenji Jasper: "The last thing I want you to think is that there is one of those kinds of stories, one of those paperbacks you see on the street that're all sex and no substance." I totally felt him on that, because somewhere along the line, fiction became porn...and I have yet to meet anyone who reads the stories behind porn. I don't care who licked, sucked, pumped what! I just want to read a good plot, so I thought Jasper was right on point. Needless to say, Jasper did NOT disappoint.

DAWN: ...was an intelligent story about a young couple who decides on whether parenthood and the responsibilities afterward. No doubt my second favorite story in here.

DRIVING WHILE BLACK: ...was one of those man's fantasy stories with all lust and very little substance.

TIES THAT BIND: ...was an interesting story about an interracial relationship, family bonds, and a set-up. Although it wrapped up a little melodramatically, I liked the principle of it.

THE HARRISBURG TEASE: ...was an entertaining story about an artist and a customer, with undertones of a writer's lifestyle. I dug that story.

SINFENDELITY: ...was a little too stereotypical with an unbelieveable amount of slang, and I couldn't really get into it, so I didn't finish it.

LAST REMNANTS OF A GOOD SITUATION: ...was my favorite story about the difficulty of being "a good man." The quote at the end was dead-on.

BEAUTIFUL ONES: ...seemed to be about weed and sex, so I didn't even bother finishing that one.

FOR THAT QUIET TIME OF THE DAY: ...would've been a really good story if it wasn't so extra. Everybody was too extreme: extreme jerks, extreme betrayal, extreme easiness, extremely ghetto. If you like Jerry Springer and/or soap operas, then this is the ideal story for you. But too much drama turned me off to the story, although it had a good theme. I think if it had been toned down a little, I'd have really liked it.

THE OBJECT OF HIS OBSESSION: I wish I'd have been left in the dark a little in regards to the sex details. Refer back to my previous comment next to Jasper's story. I kept rolling my eyes at all the graphic details and hoping that the plot was worth reading. It wasn't for me, but I'm sure it is for those who enjoy these types of stories.

I think Laurien Berenson did a GREAT job of writing this book.If you havent read it, it is excellent! At Amazon.com they areselling it, so if you want it quick, order it now! Anyway, I really loved this book, and it is great for people who like mysteries, and people who love animals (such as myself). I am only 12 and I love mysteries! My sister, who is 20 loves mysteries and when I gave this book to her to read, she read it in one night! She told me it was the best page-turner she had read in years! END

As a new fancier of purebred dogs and a long time lover of good mystery writing...the Melanie Travis mystery series is wonderful. I can't remember the last time I have stayed up until dawn to finish a book. Ms. Berenson's writing is witty and lets you know what really goes on in and out of the "show dog ring". As far as mystery writing goes...Ms. Berenson gets my vote for BEST IN SHOW! I look forward to her next ventures!

As both a dog lover and mystery addict, I expected to like this book a lot more than I did. Unfortunately, I found the characters (aside from the narrator) and the tale a little thin. For example, the only way Berenson can fit Travis' son into the plot is to mention that he's whining for junk food, which happens all too often. With tighter writing (or editing - I'm not sure who's at fault here) and a few less transparent characters, this book would be really engaging. As it stands, however, it's only decent.

I've been a dog breeder/exhibitor for 30 yrs.so I know she has her facts together and it great to be able to relate to those aspects while also getting a good mystery.

Melanie Travis appears to have learned quite a bit about the dog show world in between Pedigree and this second Berenson novel. In Underdog we find Melanie is a Poodle owner now, grooming her puppy for the big time, yet still unable to avoid trouble.

It happens when a dog trainer and friend of Melanie's dies suddenly from what appears to be natural causes. Melanie, however, refuses to let sleeping dogs lie (I have GOT to stop it with these dog puns) and returns once again to sleuth mode.

Like Pedigree, Underdog is a quick read; I would estimate a mystery fan could finish this book in 1-2 days. The story as a whole is quite good -- it will be interesting to see how the budding romance between Melanie and fellow dog owner Sam Driver plays out in future novels -- yet I must admit I had a good idea as to who the murderer was early in the story. Usually I'm not very adept at that, nevertheless I'll see if I can go two for three with the next Melanie Travis mystery.

i bought this book for my school course. i barely use this book. teacher use to give his own notes. lots of info if interested in inventor

I am completely new to Mechanical engineering. As a matter of fact, I am a computer engineer. I guess you can understand where I am coming from. This book helped me understand how to conceptualize and visualize parts and assemblies quickly. I can design simple machines now!

I wanted to learn Inventor and bought this book after reading all the other reviews of this book. I should admit that all those reviews are completely correct. This is THE book that you should buy if you want to learn Inventor.

I worked with Autodesk Inventor Professional 10 for 1 year, and 2 month ago began with Inventor Professional 2008 to use the new tools. So I decided to buy this book based in the good reviews above. First I bought the Autodesk Inventor 8 Essentials Plus for 1 dollar, yes 1 dollar, and it was perfect with the tutorials included in the software to learn all about Inventor 10.
Inventor 2008 has a lot of new features, but the menus, and 95% of tools are still the same, you just have to learn the new features. So if you have some previous version of Inventor 2008 or have bought some old version book of the serie "essentials" don`t make a mistake to buy the last one, because it`s the same book with a few new topics, and you will find with the same exercises and the same text explained just a little bit better, but they are the same after all, and for $58 dollars more ( $1dollar the essential 8 plus)

If you want to learn deep about

-Dynamic Simulation
-Stress analysis
-Design accelerator
-Tube and pipe


Don`t buy this book, you won`t find nothing about.

If you think all Inventor 2008 books are created equal, there NOT! I found that out the hard way, after buying another Inventor book before I got this one.

This book is SIX times! better than the other one I got. Much more information and their teaching (style) is great. Detailed, they take the time to show all available tools /options and methods in creating sketches, features, parts and assys. And I enjoyed the good Tips they insert in each lesson. You'll also get to see your options in Tools /Applications & Documents.
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What I also appreciated was the style that these authors presented these lessons. (detailed, but consise). If there's 3 ways of doing something - they tell you all 3. Includes tons of pics of dialog boxes and models (even complex models and drawings), to be sure you see what they are talking about.
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Inventor 2008 essentials plus book is for the beginner as well as the advanced user. And doesn't waste your time. You're always learning. and the tips are great. It brings a novice gracefully up to the advanced level - and teaches pretty much everything Inventor 2008 offers. (ie using 3D grips, doing a 3D sketch, creating iParts and BOM's, using the hardware library, using the frame generator, converting a 2D dwg to a 3D model, sheetmetal, how to work with projects, and much more).

If you want a complete book to learn Inventor, I highly recommend Inventor 2008 Essentials Plus book. Note, its 925 pages because there's a lot to learn. Highly recommend this book.

I've read many technical books in my day from computer programming to computer design. I bought this book based on the review before mine, and the reviewer is absolutely right. This is a great book!

The verbiage is concise, the information is broad and in-depth, and the tutorials help reinforce the material. Great for beginners through medium-advanced users.

A+ Book

This is a great page-turner - I read the whole book in 2 days and I'd love to do it in one if I had the time! The relationships between a variety of military types in fascinating and the book has a couple of very good ideas (without introducing a spoiler I just mention "concert platform" and "manga" for people, who actually read the book). I share the main hero preferences in music (Mother Earth/Silent Force, Festival Wind)In short, if you're looking for some escape from everyday routine, the book provides!
Otherwise, the book is totally forgettable. Characters are cartoonish, pretty much only way author solves any problem is a miracle (usually executed by the "scientists"). "Science fiction" part is mostly maulk. In respect to coding and software and chemistry I can testify to that. Physics part is rather complex, at least for the people without active background in elementary particles, so I don't quite understand why it's there.

Book IV of the Looking Glass series, in which our world now is connected to myriad other worlds through portals, and is desperately trying to avoid being consumed by a biological hive civilization referred to as the Dreen.

This installment centers around the search more alien artifacts, similar to that which provides the FTL propulsion for the Vorpal Blade. Along the way, our characters grow (Two-Gun learns about being an officer, Weaver learns how to be an XO and to deal with a disliked captain), and things blow up in humorous and unexpected ways.

Highlights are the relative realism. While not having being in an elite branch of the military, the authors portray the habits of Force Recon marines and submarines quite convincingly. The action's pretty good, with lots of automatic weapon fire and desperate stands.

Lowlights...well, there are several. The ending felt tacked on and was a bit jarring (i.e. the Thermopylae showing up). While the tone of the series has always been more lighthearted than, say, the Prince Roger or Posleen books, it almost ventures a bit too far over the line when it comes to the Big Alien Artifact they find. In particular, while I laughed very hard at the "Anime Zone" effect, that's almost too silly.

On the whole, a pretty good read, though it was a bit short for my tastes. On the other hand, filler for filler's sake would detract. So, 3.5 stars, rounding up to 4, because the occasional fourth-wall breaking things like "Well, now we know who the main character is" is silly, it was also funny as heck.

Cover to cover in one day. A very engrossing read, with non-stop action. Too bad the XO never did find his door.

Now for the bad news: You need to read the earlier books in the series to get up to speed. Most of the information is there, it just comes at you real fast.

The good news: the publisher has once again added a cd-rom to the book. This contains (unless I miss my guess) the earlier books in the series!! This is the kind of bargain that shouldn't be missed.

I haven't perused my cd because I already own most of Baen's backlist (everything by John and Doc).

This one got five stars, which should tell you how I felt about this latest entry in the Looking Glass Saga. Once again the A.S.S. Vorpal Blade(II) goes forth to find out "What's out there? Thataway," and runs headlong into more trouble than you'ld want to see in one lifetime.

As with the last book, Manxome Foe (Looking Glass, Book 3) the first two-thirds or so of the book deal with daily living, people, preparations for lift-off, and the people problems of getting a crew working as a team. This is followed by the sort of space and small-unit battle that the authors handle superbly.

All of it was very well-written and thoroughly engrossing to the point where I hated having to interrupt my reading with little things like eating, work, dinner with my wife, websurfing. And I'm very glad, as I write this, that I finished it in time NOT to lose anything as unimportant as sleep.

The title of this review, however, is how I'll be thinking of this story for a long time. Remember the problem of shaking down a crew of people, most of them strangers to each other, into a smoothly functioning team? THAT is truly, for me, what this book was about. The really important battle in this book was creating that team, getting the screwups to learn better, INCLUDING the captain, and turning them into a family. I won't give you any spoilers here. Each and every one of those scenes is engrossing, and taught me powerful lessons about how to function at my job and do the people parts WELL.

And, as the last parts of the book make pellucidly clear, if the people problems hadn't been worked on BEFORE the "murthering great battle" at the end, NOBODY would have made it out of this one alive.

FYI, the CD that comes with the book has:

All of the books in the Looking Glass series(Into the Looking Glass, Vorpal Blade, Manxome Foe, Claws That Catch)

All of the books in the Council Wars series(There Will Be Dragons, Emerald Sea, Against the Tide, East of the Sun, West of the Moon)

All of the books in the Paladin of Shadows series(Ghost, Kildar, Choosers of the Slain, Unto the Breach, A Deeper Blue)

All of the books in the Empire of Man series (co-authored with David Weber)

Almost all of the books in the Aldenata Series (Honor of the Clan isn't out yet, darnit!)

All of Doc Travis' books for Baen, both solo and co-authored with John Ringo.

The Last Centurion

The Road to Damascus (The Bolo Series)

Getting that with this book is rather like being told "You liked this gold coin, eh, boy? Well, here's a sack of 'em. Go have fun."

It just doesn't get better than a package like this.

Claws That Catch (2008) is the fourth SF novel in the William Weaver series, following Manxome Foe. In the previous volume, the Vorpal Blade was damaged so severely that it was replaced. The casualty rate was not as bad as the first voyage, but the losses were still heavy. Most of the survivors were decorated and promoted. Two-Gun was sent to OCS by presidential order.

In this novel, Brooke Pierson marries Eric Bergstresser. He wears officer dress blues for the first time. He also has an enlisted dress uniform in his closet that has never been worn. Rapid promotion can be expensive.

Two-Gun discovers at almost the last minute that there will be a few special guests at the wedding. Of course, his former skipper -- Admiral Blankemeier -- is coming. The President was persuaded not to attend due to the publicity factor, but the Chief of Astronautic Operations and the Commandant of the Marine Corps are coming instead, along with assorted staff officers. The reception is going to be brass heavy.

After a short yet enthusiastic honeymoon, Lieutenant Bergstresser reports for duty and is handed a heavy load of auxiliary duties. The paperwork is going to seriously cut into his married life. Being an officer in the Space Marines is more work and less fun than being a junior sergeant.

The Vorpal Blade II is being readied for a new mission when the news hits the fan. The White House and Pentagon were preparing to announce the existence of a space navy in the very near future, but the Russians, Chinese and the media caught onto the information a bit sooner than expected. Various survivors of the second voyage -- including Two-Gun -- quickly become international news celebrities. Top Powell is a hit on the talk circuit.

In this story, the new Vorpal Blade is checking out an intelligence item received from their new allies. The Hexosehr had discovered an alien artifact of unknown origin in a retrograde orbit around a gas giant. They had tried to destroy it to keep its technology out of Dreen hands, but their best efforts failed to dent the skin. The Hexosehr finally deorbitted the artifact into the gas giant atmosphere.

The voyage out is flawed with minor problems. Captain Weaver is the new executive officer and is trying to break in the new commander. Unfortunately, Captain Prael is a former submariner and has problems adjusting to the Space Navy. He does accept the space tape, but refuses to let Miriam Moon provide assistance to engineering. So the linguist and technological genius is bored and depressed until the requests start trickling in despite the skipper's orders.

When the Vorpal Blade reaches its destination, the crew cannot find any other signs of the alien civilization in space and only some buried ruins on the surface of a terrestrial type planet. So the ship visits a blue giant in the vicinity. This sun has definite signs of alien civilization, including something huge that looks like a glass christmas tree.

After a frustrating time investigating the tree, the Vorpal Blade leaves a contingent on the artifact and travels to Runner's World to get some additional specialists from the Hexosehr. The XO is left in charge, so he decides that he can now play his guitar to relax his nerves. The crew complains about his volume and singing, but Weaver ignores them. They do find some fascinating and terrifying aspects of the artifact, but then a Dreen fleet arrives.

This tale puts Weaver and the away party in harm's way. So what else is new! Still, the Dreen fleet has sixty-one ships, including a very large brain-ship.

As with the previous stories, the casualty rate is high and the ship gets shot up. Yet an alien spider-like creature with a serious hunger for Dreen flesh provides some significant assistance. Enjoy!

Highly recommended for Ringo & Taylor fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of space opera, naval and marine combat, and some very interesting characters.

-Arthur W. Jordin

As another reviewer stated, too much violence. Must have wanted to do a bit of hippie bashing(also a bit too sensational grabbing). Still it is McGee and not a totally bad read. Green Ripper is the best one I've read.

I have read several of the McGee series with my favorites the ones that aren't so erotic or violent. This one seems to have a lot of both in it and I'm not sure why. I guess as time went by for McD it seemed more necessary or maybe it was a reflection of the times that the vlolence and sex became more diviant, cruel and prominant. I much prefer the earlier books when there was more of a campy necessary point to the violence and more of a visual behind closed doors than a full out play by play bedroom scene. This book was awfully heavy on that stuff and took up many pages. It's sort of depressing. But I did find this book very intriguing especially as McD really paints a scene and you feel as though you can not only imagine the sights but hear the background noise of the busy city. I lived this era although on the younger side of when this was written compared to the characters I am glad that era is over. I really did not like the hippie era and was sorry that it was my generation's contribution. I felt scared in my own time of all the drugs and strange opinions running counter to all that had been safe and secure in society. They didn't really have an answer just wanted to "drop out" but made nothing any better by doing so. It's interesting to note this era was followed by the yuppie and preppy eras, lol.

I did feel that there may have been too many characters in this book and that the problems of the "girl" the story centers around were never really made clear. Why was she the way she was and to the extent? Many people have tragedy in life but don't resort to such self destruction. All in all a good book a little out of character for JDM in some of the more graphic areas.

It really doesn't matter which Travis McGee book you are reading because they are all so pleasureable that it is like slipping into a warm bath. They possess great narrative drive and a character that is at once bigger than life, self-deprecating, philosophical and all too human.

Travis Mcgee is a great figure in literature. Over the 20 years or so that MacDonald wrote these 21 novels(all with a color in the title and all with the title somewhere in the novel), McGee aged by about a year for every three that MacDonald wrote. His insights grew sharper, his cynicism and self loathing battled with his heroic life and his incredible pleasures. His reliance on his physical dexterity and strength diminished as his cunning increased.

The books were written between approximately 1964 to 1984. This particular book was written in 1969. Relatively early in the saga, and one of a handful taking place in Mexico. Most took place in South Florida where he lived on a houseboat. Where else could he live?

He went to Mexico to find out what happened to a friend's daughter. Traveling with his frequent companion, Meyer, he uncovers some sinister plot and we are introduced to some great memorable characters, and always fabulous women including Elena from Guadalahara and Becky, a sexual machine. Since it is the late 60's, you get to see the hippies in Mexico and McGee's relation to them.

The wonder and greatness of these books lies in the writing and the creation of a world and a being that you are lucky to tag along with during your time together.

A classic commentary on the 60s counterculture by John McD. A group of flower children are scattered across Mexico and have information concerning Bix Bowie's last days. As Meyer and McGee unravel the story, the gang starts dropping like flies. Several neat twists and a jawdropping finale. Reading this book brought back memories of old Dragnet and Adam-12 shows featuring the degenerate hippies. Trav gets more work in the bedroom than in any other I've read. Along the way he gets to pummel a homosexual AND a lesbian(not that there's anything OK with that, they just had it comin' to them).

If there is a weak link in the chain of Travis McGee novels, I have yet to find it. MacDonald's "Dress Her In Indigo" is yet another great tale in the long list of books of the McGee cycle, and I have read more than a dozen of them. This one has the same driving pace, magnetic and realistic characters, and acerbic wit as any other in the series.

While the written information contained within is remarkable in its' breadth and detail, and the publication certainly has a good "hand" on the current market, the publication fails sadly in its' photographic quality.

Certain patterns colours are corrupted in the printing process. A notable example of this is on page 181, Figure 390 "Dinner Plate Chambord Pattern". This plate in fact has a soft green tinge to the entire plate and the edge is a teal / blue. It is not a red pinkish colour, which is how it is represented.

This is a significant misrepresentation of the appearance of the article and there are a series of errors in the publication of a similar calibre, and it reflects badly on what is fundamentally a good publication.

I don't consider myself a collector of Haviland; I bought this book to get a toehold in this world while searching for replacements for my mother's turn-of-the-century pattern.

This book is organized in such a way that someone new to this area can understand the basics types of pieces, identify the various markings and get some idea of reasonable values. Did I mention that it also looks good on the coffee table?

Nora Travis' book includes photographs of the usual and unusual pieces of Haviland porcelain which makes it a well rounded book for the amateur and serious collectors. It contains many beautiful "art" pieces, and the values are right on target. A lot of work went into this book, and it shows. The photos are really great as well. We, Keith and Thomas Waterbrook-Clyde, are the authors of a book on Limoges porcelain, The Decorative Art of Limoges Porcelain and Boxes.

Haviland China, one of the most collected Limoges producing companies, comes to life in this very informative book. Not only does Ms. Travis includes a Haviland family tree in this book, but also a history of this wonderful family legacy.

Beautiful color photographs enable us to enjoy some of the very rare pieces produced beginning in 1895. The price guide for these pieces are right on the money, and the signature guide makes piece identification easy!

As a serious Haviland collector, I never go to an antique store or show without it!

Nora Travis is one of the leading experts on Haviland. I love the quality of her books, and have found the photographs professional, and the content informative and interesting. While researching my book: LIVING WITH LIMOGES by Debby DuBay, I again sought out Nora Travis' work for information on Haviland Limoges. She is an expert in the field of Haviland and I recommend this book to all who need information on the subject or for those who enjoy beautiful coffee table books.