Wallace Books

This book is out of date, but I still recommend it highly for someone who's trying to learn about wine for the first time. This is the first book I've encountered that doesn't just present a list of regions, wines, varietals, and obscure facts to memorize. Rather, it provides a framework for how to think about and really understand wine. For example the authors propose simple categories that can be used to help predict which wines will go well with different foods and why. The book also covers a variety of related topics like: How to order wine if you know much more (or much less) about wine than the people you're having dinner with. How to tell if a restaurant has a terrible wine list, and what to do in that case. How to organize a wine cellar (and why you'd want to). What to do if someone gives you an incredibly expensive bottle of wine as a gift. And so on.

The book is charming, full of interesting anecdotes, and a perfect introduction to wine. Unfortunately the book is long out of date and out of print. So the only option is to track down old copies and ignore the out-of-date information (like prices of specific wines). I sincerely hope the authors decide to put out a new edition some day, although I don't hold out much hope given that the book is 30 years old.

This is as state of the art as it gets. Very little fluff (like the Shuman "Encyclopedia". Gives some very interesting information about life in "the potteries", but most of all has photos of a great many Gaudy Welsh patterns. Photo quality is not stunning, but gives you what you need to ID pieces. I wish somebody would expand this work...maybe when I retire...

I've listened to a borrowed copy of this book twice. I like it better than anything else I've ready by Wallace Stegner -- except for his few other stories on the same subject: The early 1900s on the open range in Alberta. Page Stegner's voice is perfect for this book. I've decided that audio books have to be largely poetic to be enjoyable and this one is. Like Raymond Chandler, Stegner knows how to turn a phrase; unlike Chandler, he tells a story you can follow without having to make a big effort at concentration. I know I'll want to hear it again and again.

It's impossible to write about George Raft anymore without mentioning his biographer Stone Wallace. Wallace has written over a dozen novels and nonfiction work over his distinguished career. But recently when Bear Manor, one of the nation's publishers, sent me a biography on the legendary George Raft, I found myself intrigued and excited. The foreword was by one of the best film noir authors of all time, Mr. Alan K. Rode. Stone Wallace lives in Winnipeg, Canada with his beautiful wife, and the writer is busy completing another book for Bear Manor Publishing, this one called "A Fuller Life: Hollywood, Ed Wood & Me," which he is coauthoring with the actress Dolores Fuller. It's sure to be a page turner.

Stone Wallace is a writer's writer. He has a brilliant power with words and every reader will be able to follow the incredible story he weaves of the life and career of a great actor, who should have become an even bigger star. The fact that he was such a huge fan of the multi-talented Hollywood heavy on the screen, George Raft, adds enormous depth to his writing. Raft's decision to let a role go to another actor, lesser known at the time, was the reason that we all know who Humphrey Bogart is today.

Best known as a WB heavy on screen, Raft did many movies with the great James Cagney. Raft's list of films includes, but is not limited to: "Scarface," "Each Dawn I Die," "Invisible Stripes," "Rogue Cop," and "Some Like It Hot." However, when not playing heavies and gangsters, which he preferred not to do, he also made a name for himself in some of our great classics such as "Night After Night," "Bolero," "Souls at Sea," "Spawn of the North," "They Drive by Night" and "Manpower."


Whenever I read a biography on a forgotten star, I want to feel like I didn't waste my time caring about the featured star. This book will not disappoint anyone. For those who are young and maybe have not even heard of Raft, you need to read this wonderful tome, as it will make you want to go out and rent all of his films. Oh, guess I've just dated myself; today the young people would go online to Netflix and rent the films. Do so! Raft was a very charismatic and strong presence on the big screen. But this author, Stone Wallace, is equally as strong and charismatic in his writing of this legend.

Raft had one of those faces that were tailor made for a leading man at Warner Bros. Bette Davis often said they worked very hard at the Warner's lot and she was right. No one wad more hard working than George Raft, working starting in the late 1920s and continuing through the `40s and `50s. The twice married New York native was raised in the tough streets but also became infamous for befriending real life heavies like "Bugsy" Siegel. Raft didn't seem to mind what was being said or written about him and had a few incidents where he got a bit heavy handed and tough with some who either disagreed with him or in his mind disrespected him.


But it's with great respect that one of the world's leading authorities writes about the man who made Humphrey Bogart a star. And it's with great respect that I suggest everyone read this wonderful new book, "George Raft: The Man Who Would Be Bogart." Stone, Georgie would be proud of you; I surely am. This book is a two thumbs up read, a Five Plus star biography and Bear Manor did an excellent job putting it all together, with some of the most incredible scene stills and candid shots of the great Raft with legendary actresses like Betty Grable, Carole Lombard, Gloria Swanson and even an incredible shot of one of my favorite actresses Ava Gardner with Raft. I read this book twice over a weekend, not because it was empty or filled with filler, but because it was interesting, enlightening and entertaining. Just what a great summer book should be!

One hundred four authors have contributed to this book. It has five divisions each containing many chapters: I. Health Promotion and Risk Reduction, II. Normalcy Throughout the Life Span, III. Issues in Environments of Care, IV. Geriatric Emotional Health, V. Pathological Conditions of Aging, and VI. Cognitive and Neurobehavioral Issues in Aging. Each entry presents relevant research up to about 2000. Entries have a title, note the author and identify related topics. This is a good book for learning of the research related to geriatric nursing up to 2000.

I'll admit, if this book hadn't been required reading for a class I took on East Asian folklore, I probably never would've read "Gesar!" But, having read it, I have definitely gained a greater appreciation for the Tibetan cultural tradition.

"Gesar!" is a simply told story, understandable by all ages. Despite many culturally-specific elements, this is a universal story.

If you are looking for a less well-known epic tale, or just want a good read, I recommend "Gesar!"

This is a good poem book for children ages 8-12. The book may scare some children, but the book is full of very interesting poems. I think the author has done a wonderful job of collecting the poems and an even more wonderful job illustrating them. If you are interested in theses kind of poems you should check out some of Edgar Allen Poe's stories about death and desperation. But if you like the artwork you shoul see some of Edward Gorey's books and books in which he has done illustrations in.

Faced with prospect of a Presidential election between Harry Truman and New York Governor Thomas E.Dewey leftwing and progressive forces were looking for a person to run for the Presidency, who would promote a policy of peace(no Cold War)toward the Soviet Union,and fight for racial,social,and ecomonic equality/justice at home,with no political repression at home for political dissidents.Any kind of political leftism was viewed as being pro -Soviet and subject to all kinds of political harassment.The Hollywood blacklist,was just around the corner and HUAC had already conducted hearings in Hollywood regarding "the red menance"Henry Wallace,FDR's 2cd VP,who was dumped in 1944,by big city bosses and Southern racists, the reason Wallace was because he was considered to be "leftwing",and a liability for the Democratic ticket.The real reason was that "the powers that be" knew FDR was near death and whoever was the Vice-President would become President.Wallace was not trusted by the "Wall Street Crowd",even though he was NOT a Communist or a Socialist,but what he called a "progressive Capitalist" in contrast to the easily plyable Truman(whose close ties to the corrupt Kansas City machine and organized crime made him a prime subject for possible political blackmail).The author,the late NU Prof.(of Journalism) Curtis MacDougal penned this 3 vol. account of the events leading up to the "48 election,the involvement in,or in some instances against the Wallace campaign.It is also a who's who of the left in the 1940's.Names such as William Foster,Mike Quill,Harry Bridges,Victor Perlo,Robert Kenny,John Abt,and many,many others dot the pages of this fine history.Not only is it a good look at late 1940"s American politics,from a left-wing viewpoint,but also an inside look at Illinois politics,and the role of the state Demcrats in keeping Wallace off the state ballot.If Wallace were on the state ballot local Demcrats felt Truman would have no chance in carrying Illinois.Earl Dickerson,a prominent Chicago attorney,civil rights activist and Wallace backer is the subject of a recent bio.,with a review,for Amazon written by me.The Earl Dickerson book is available from Amazon.

Here are pictured all the steps from tree to finished product, with dramatic pictures taken in California forests. We see the careful cutting of the tree, the fall of the giant, the loading of large and small logs on powerful trucks, the machinery that makes logs into lumber. We meet the men in the industry, and find something out about their special skills, the tools they use, and their equipment. Endpapers show forest regions of the U.S.

There's a picture of one giant log that equals a 5 room house. It's 8 feet, 8 inches in diameter and 32 feet long. It took hundreds of years to grow it. This kind of information is what your child will learn from this book. Really interesting to young and old alike. Lots of pictures.

What makes this book so wonderful is the art. The decorated boards, illustrations on every page with light illustration behind the text, and the shiny frontispiece. Fantastic.