California Books

This was a charming book. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Living in the area it is nice to read about some of the history of the area.

It gives a nice feel for the way the locals lived along the Klamath River. Also, a good view of the Indians lives. I only wish the women had gone back. I came away feeling sad that they left the area when they did.

Great book about a great place. Lots of change in a short amount of time.

From early in the 20th to the birth of the 21st Century, little changed along the banks of the Klamath in 95 years. The path these women followed remains little altered from when they traveled tho now covered in asphalt, it is still a remote and rough territory for the uninitiated. They stepped off a ship in Humboldt Bay and then walked off the map into the unknown. Surrounded by wilderness, the Marble Mountains and the Trinity Alps, as spectacular and rugged peaks today as they were then. Great Grandchildren of some of those who taught these adventerous ladies the skills to survive in this wild country still live on the same piece of ground. This is the canvas Mary and Mabel painted a wonderful picture of the world they found here. Let them show you the neighborhood and see if you could follow those footsteps down the trail.

Since the world was created at Katimin, the Klamath River has been home to the salmon runs that fed the eagles and fattened bears and filled the smokehouses of the people. The river is the life-blood that flows thru the canyon veins, like a puzzle, each piece necessary to make it complete. A blood transfusion 150 miles away only slowing foreclosure on farmland in another state, no crops must die. Now less water flows downstream and is murky colored and too warm for the salmon to survive in but the life of a potato was saved! A river with no fish is a watershed dying, when the life of the river dies will life along that river follow? These hardy women managed to live without fries, but a river without salmon would be both unbelieveable and inconceivable to them.

Mary and Mabel wandered into my part of northern california to be schoolteachers. From their story you can see how they knew nothing of what the territory was like, how the people were, or any local customs. They seemed to have a vague sense that it was a 'wild' land. They fit in amazingly well in a land where killing another person meant you had to pay that persons family $100 and law was either non-existant or uneffective. They seem to throughly enjoy themselves and set to learn the culture around them and teach what they can. Surprises are around every corner, from rattlesnakes to mountain lions to injun devils. Surprises such as their trusted friend telling them he couldn't go into one town because he had to 'pay $500 last time.'
A great story that is easy to read and gives a glimpse of the hidden corner of northern california where the hupa, yurok and karuk indians reside.

This is an amazing account, by two very adventurous women, of their time spent in an extremely remote area of this country. Even with the speed of modern automobile travel, the tiny communities along the Klamath River, in Humboldt & Siskiyou Counties of northern California, are still remote. Mary & Mabel's sense of adventure, humor, tolerance & joy radiate from this book. It's been 20 years since I lived near the Company Ranch, in Orleans, and read this story. I'm looking forward to owning my own copy and re-reading it. Another reader recommended a wonderful book of similar format. It's exact title is "Tisha: the story of a young teacher in the Alaskan wilderness". It is available through Amazon. I lent my copy several years ago; it's time to buy another copy and re-read it, too. These books are very difficult to find in bookstores. Thank you, Amazon.

I recently read Paths to Power, co-authored by Anthony Mayo and Nitin Nohria with Laura G. Singleton, as well as this book in which Mayo and Nohria also focus on some of the greatest business leaders of the twentieth century. As in Paths to Power, rather than limiting their attention to a set number of exemplary leaders - in chronological order -- and then devoting a separate chapter to each, Mayo and Nohria chose instead to examine the evolution of 20th century business leadership in terms of the ten decades, assigning to each an appropriate theme while frequently cross-referencing throughout the entire century. For example, Chapter One (1900-1909) is titled "The Land of Opportunity"; Chapter Six (1950-1959) is "Feeding the Machine of Consumption"; and Chapter Ten (1990-1999) is "Reengineering, Restructuring, and Reality Check."

In my opinion, as in their later book (Paths to Power), Mayo and Nohria's role, is more that of cultural anthropologists than as biographers or even business historians. They create a social and economic context within a 100-year framework as they examine what differentiated outsiders from insiders in business leadership in the 20th century.

In the city where I live, we have a number of outdoor markets at which slices of fresh fruit are offered as samples of the produce available. In that same spirit, I frequently include brief excerpts such as these from a book to help those who read my review to get a "taste." Here is a representative selection from the material that Mayo and Nohria provide:

"The business executives of the first decade were driven, opportunistic, and innovative. They operated on a large scale and constantly expanded their base of power. They built businesses that often had far-reaching impact on the way society lived, but they were, for the most part, less concerned about the way people worked; there was generally little regard for progressive employment practices. The focus was not on the quality of work life or necessarily on the quality of the product; it was often the quantity of the output. For many, there was no better way to secure quantity in the 1900s than through consolidation, and the move toward consolidation subsequently spawned another fundamental shift in business - a focus on productivity and efficiency." (Chapter One, Page 31)

Note: The business leaders discussed in this chapter include Clarence M. Wooley (American Radiator Company), Cyrus H.K. Curtis (Curtis Publishing Company), and Frank C. Ball (Ball Brothers Company).

"Although innovation and technical competence were the principal drivers of products in the 1940s, marketing, advertising, and standardization drove products and services in the 1950s. Sales volume was further increased because many products followed a planned-obsolescence life cycle. Successful businesses adopted this use-and-replace strategy, which was aided significantly with the rise in products manufactured with plastic or other synthetic materials. The lack of focus on product quality would eventually become a major liability for U.S. manufacturers, but that was hard to see in the general prosperity of the 1950s and 1960s as corporate profits continued to rise."

Note: The business leaders discussed in this chapter include Howard J. Morgens (Procter & Gamble), C. Kemmins Wilson (Holiday Inn), Raymond A. Kroc (McDonald's), and Malcolm P. McLean (SeaLand Service).

"As we have seen in our analysis of previous decades, the full impact of the entrepreneur's work is often not visible for many years; these businesspeople often push the limits of what is possible and even what is conceivable. By their nature, entrepreneurs and their businesses are ahead of the curve, and it is relatively dangerous to assess performance and impact as it is unfolding.

Note: The business leaders discussed in this chapter include Alfred M. Zeien (Gillette Company), Louis V. Gerstner Jr. (IBM Corporation), and Meg Whitman (eBay).

Those who share my high regard for this brilliant book are urged to check out the aforementioned Paths to Power as well as Stuart Crainer's The Management Century and Stewart H. Holbrook's The Age of the Moguls: The Story of the Robber Barons and the Great Tycoons. (obtaining a copy of it is well worth the effort.) In his book, Holbrook examines a number of "lords of capital" who, in his words, "made `deals' purchased immunity, and did other things which in 1860, or 1880, or even 1900, were considered no more than `smart' by their fellow Americans, but which today would give pause to the most conscientiously dishonest promoter....They were a motley crew, yet taken together they fashioned a savage and gaudy age as distinctively purple as that of imperial Rome, and infinitely more entertaining." The group Holbrook considers is divided into three categories: promoters, bankers, and industrialists, with merchants in the latter group. They include Jim Fisk, Jay Gould, Charlie Gates, Thomas William Lawson, Henry H. Rogers, Henry Morrison Flagler, and Samuel Insull; Andrew Carnegie, John D. Rockefeller, Jr., Cyrus McCormick, Philip D. Armour, Henry Clay Frick, Henry Ford, and the Du Ponts; also the Guggenheims, Andrew W. Mellon, James J. Hill, Edward Henry Harriman, Henry Villard, the first two Vanderbilts, and the Astors. Some of these names remain familiar in our own time; others do not. All were "tough-minded fellows, who fought their way encased in rhinoceros hides and filled the air with their mad bellowings and the cries of the wounded." A colorful lot indeed.

Holbrook's account of 19th century robber barons and great tycoons "sets the table" for the "feast" of information and analysis that Anthony Mayo and Nitin Nohria so skillfully provide.

I bought this book for one of my MBA courses. It is a great outline of business in America. I really enjoyed reading the book from the intro to the conclusion!

This is an important read beyond the standard insights of Collins, Charan and others. The historical settings of each leader are detailed to set the traits and skills of each business leader in context of the social and economic realities of their times.

Get two copies and give one to someone you admire and start a conversation on how important the social and economic realities are to business.

Gives good sense of American economy combined with history and the leaders who shaped the economy.
It gives excellent details about how the business leaders leveraged the environment (business context) to succeed.
It is very inspirational to anyone thinking of creating a business and dreaming of making it big.

This book explores how context, over time, creates different types of opportunities, and how business legends can be defined by the types of opportunities they pursued. What distinguishes this book from similar studies of legendary leaders, managers and entrepreneurs, is the underlying theme of contextual intelligence-the profound awareness and sensitivity to macro-level factors driving the creation, growth or transformation of business at a particular time. The authors discuss and assess the great names in business in the context of their time, organizing the book by decades, beginning in 1900 through the end of the last century. The book makes for fascinating,d enjoyable reading. This is a top-notch contribution to the study of those who have created and shaped business enterprises.

I purchased this book for the photography but found the information contained within quite informative. Entomology is a hobby. One I get little time to indulge in. This book is an excellent addition to anyone's library on these beautiful insects.

This is one of the most gorgeous books I own. I look at these pictures, and I think that human beings could not dream up jewelry that touches the beauty of these creatures. It is utterly unbelievable! Every time I page through this book my jaw is open in disbelief. They are so breathtaking they almost bring tears to my eyes. Okay. Confession time. They HAVE brought tears to my eyes.

The photographs by Lisa Watson are the first thing to catch your eye about this beautifully produced book. The majority are of museum specimens, which oddly is what makes the pictures so attractive: we're used to seeing high quality pictures of wildlife, but the displays here juxtapose many different beetles and have more impact than wildlife shots would.

The pictures are beautiful but the text is high-quality too. The authors start by reciting some statistics on the number of beetle species. Linnaeus, two hundred and fifty years ago, described 654 species; and Fabricius added another 4,112 species between 1775 and 1801. By 1876 Gemminger and von Harold's catalog contained nearly 77,000 species; and when Junk and Schenkling's catalogue was completed, in 1940, it listed nearly 221,500 species. It's now estimated that there are 350,000 described beetle species. However, recent work by Terry Erwin, extrapolating from detailed studies of a small area, suggests that there are more than eight *million* species of beetle just in the tropics!

The rest of the book is a fairly detailed survey of beetles in all their aspects. The authors are enthusiasts as well as experts, and it shows in their writing, which is crisp, clear and engaging. They cover beetle anatomy, fossilized beetles, habitats and niches, the beetle life cycle, and mimicry. There is also substantial coverage of beetles and humans: naming, appearance in mythology, use as jewels (really!), a discussion of pest control, and use in education. The book has more scientific depth than is usual for a coffee table book, without sacrificing interest value.

There is a website that appears to be maintained by one of the authors (Evans) that contains some material from the book; I recommend you take a look if you are hesitating about buying this. I found it by searching for the book title using a standard search engine; when I looked it was on the Lorquin Entomological Society's website, but it may have moved.

Recommended.

The website for this book and the general topic is:
http://www.fond4beetles.com

If someone said, "Ok, you're being sent to a colony on Jupiter's second moon and you only get to bring one picture book with you," this would be it. It is a stunning book. One reviewer mentioned being moved to tears, and it really is no joke. The photos of the beetles are gorgeous and the text is really well written.

People generally fear insects, regard them as pests, or don't bother thinking about them at all. Arthur Evans gives weight to what is frequently overlooked. Taking one order, Coleoptera (beetles), he uses it as a means to discuss the big picture on Earth--balance and biodiversity. Evans manages all of this with a sense of reverence and even spirituality that complements the statistics and hard data:

"...But viewing beetles simply as machines, without understanding their role in the ecosystem, is a narrow perspective that reflects intellectual, spatial, and temporal limitations. As the world's ecosystems continue to shrink in the wake of human exploitation--a direct result of our ever-burgeoning population--our approach to all the sciences must continue to evolve from an analysis of parts to a necessarily more holistic approach. We must learn to view beetles not as machines, but as conduits of energy flowing through the entire biosphere."

I'd always been fascinated by insects, but this book really honed my interest and since I bought it, it has inspired me to learn more about them and share what I've learned. I even had the great luck of meeting a weevil expert. Beetles are simply incredible little animals and I'm really glad that Evans has written a book about them that is so accessible and lovely.

Being the author of this book I am naturally biased toward it. What I can say is that I contacted the best authorities in the world for information and pictures and did not borrow from any other book.

One thing I would like to say about the reviews on this book. The book is exactly as described by Amazon and the University of Oklahoma Press and I want to debunk the few odd reviews stating that this book consists of ten yellowed pages. I have no idea why anyone would state such a thing but can assure you that it is untrue and completely ridiculous.

Thanks,
Bonnie Hendricks

This book is wonderful. Lots of information, but a little pricy. Overall, it's a good deal for you if you love horses like me. One problem I had was I didn't know how many pages were in the book. All I know is it has more than 17 pages because there are 17 sample pages. I enjoyed looking at the sample pages. Thank you.

This book is truly a complete guide to horse breeds. Unfortunately the quality of the book material was a disappointment. It was filled with photos; but only a few were color photos. The pages were not much better than the quality of a comic book, thin and yellow. I expected much more for the price. 4 stars solely on the detail and depth of it's information.

Bonnie Hendricks has gone far beyond what any other horse breed researcher has done...she has contacted every breed association she possibly could. She has written with far more detail, greater accuracy, and on many more breeds than any other horse book I have seen. Her intelligent ideas inserted into some breed descriptions are well worth noting. This is a MUST-HAVE for the serious equine enthusiast! It has definitely spoiled my appetite for any other horse book that attempts to describe the breeds. Thanks Bonnie, we needed this book!

Intresting and somewhat overwhelming a great insite into the world of horses.

This is one book I would recommend most highly to anyone who thinks about learning more about prayer and hungers for more. The subtitle, "The Way of Christian Contemplation" should not frighten anyone because it is not "new" nor is it just a "technique." Rather, it follows from the best tradition of the church, including John of the Cross, Theresa of Avila and others. Fr. Keating's writing is simple, clear, using examples we can all identify with. No one needs a theology degree for this, just a hunger to learn about deeper prayer. At 140 pages, Keating give a great introduction....and in fact lots more than just a start.

Other than the Bible itself, no other writings available offer sincere seekers a more illumined path to our Creator where we may dwell in His Truth. I thank God for Thomas Keating!

Father Keating displays a gift for imparting essential points of mystic theology (a beauty so ancient and so new ... could not resist adding that, because many of his references are Augustinian) in a manner so gentle that they seem simple reflections. (At this moment, I hope that my reference to "mystic theology" does not cause potential readers to click the back button.) Scriptural references abound, and are often haunting - so much so that the translations (his own?), which are rather excessively colloquial, do not make one wince. The author explains points clearly and well, and generally with an engaging charm. Very fine work.

Having been to a retreat led by Father Keating, I find a seamless connection between the man and his books. Invitation to Love follows his typical pattern of treating profound spiritual issues with simplicity of style and great respect for the connection between spiritual and psychological growth. The ostrich can't see with his head in the sand; neither can we "see" spiritually until we have wiped the sand from our eyes and looked at our psychological formation and its effects on us as adults. Keating explains this connection and provides ways to progress from an "I-centered" to a spiritually-centered way of life. Reading this book was a gift to myself!

INVITATION TO LOVE is the third of Father Keating's books to deal with Christian Comtemplation, centering prayer and developing a deeper understanding of our relationship to God. This type of prayer, unlike more active forms, enables us to "rest in God's presence" and can help us in our journey toward God.

In this book, the author discusses the many false programs for happiness and levels of human consciousness, giving the reader a better understanding of how we seek God on our terms, rather than on His. Our obstacles to prayer are shown in the context of our psychological background and social upbringing, yet Father Keating does so in a clear, yet inspiring style.

As other reviewers have noted, the reader may get more out of this book by reading OPEN MINDS, OPEN HEARTS and THE MYSTERY OF CHRIST. I read both of those books and found that each built on the other. Together, they are an excellent resource.

What an opening into a soul, and what a sharing of a self!
Mus White's book combines images and reflections into a story,
which is as much a sweeping epic across time and place, as
it is a personal tale. After reading this book, I felt like
I was, indeed, holding Jasmine in my hand.

When we read we travel to a world that is not ours. We are given the transportation to another's consciousness. Mus White's novel Jasmine in my hand carries us to more than a couple of corners of the world. One of these places, for example, is a dimly lit corner of Copenhagen where we follow the life of small worried girl. Pia falls into an oily green canal in her brand new gray coat which she had begged her mother to buy though her mother couldn't afford it. Another place is LA, where this same small child has grown into a woman who has everything modern America has to give, all the coats in the world, more light and light switches than anyone could possibly use or want. But in these and other locations the real place through which we move and travel is Mus White's consciousness and what a consciousness it is. Using language that dances more than it sits, we dip and slide, slither fall, lift and ascend. Ms. White's sense of the movement of language is a language of its own. It sits not in letters and sentences, words and paragraphs, but somewhere between an intense consciousness of the senses and the dream life of both wordiness and wordlessness. Mus White moves us with the confidence of a witch across these boundaries and back again. Read her, dance with her, sit and ascend.

If you want to rediscover and exercise all your emotions in a single read, buy this book. White's writing is so raw, honest, and powerful, you will instantly see what sets this book apart from all other heroine-centered, first-person novels. This is no manufactured study of a woman with imagined torments; this is the real thing. Pia is a flesh and blood person, fully alive and sitting right in front of you, telling you her remarkable story, with all of its anguish and passion, as if you were in her kitchen holding her hands. You can see the tears, hear the laughter, and smell the coffee. You smile with her; you cry with her; and you want to support her like your new best friend. After all is said, Pia is right there for you, a magnificent woman, with all her complexities. Very highly recommended.

In Jasmine in MY Mind, Mus White sets an initial cadence with her writing
that beats through her novel with the hum of humanity.
At times, through her poetic use of language, she creates sublime images
that are unique in their nature. And other times she reaches to the dark side
that resides in all of us and comes forth with observations that are totally
honest and at the same time utterly terrifying.
Ms. White seamlessly shifts between childhood and adulthood and never loses
the threads of her mesmerizing story.

Nothing about the title and summary of this book prepared me for the absolute uniqueness of this writer's voice and story. She somehow manages to make you feel as if you've burrowed deep into her very soul; you experience right along with her everything that's happening, both the familiar (in a new way) and the unfamiliar (as if you were there).

Her story keeps you turning pages, as riveted as one might be by a soap opera. But this is no soap opera. Rather, it's the debut of an extraordinarily talented new writer with a lot to say and the wherewithal to say it in a most literary and expressive way. I dare anyone to put it down once they've start reading it!

I enjoy the book especially about the air war situation at Leyte Island in the Philippines during October through December 1944. However, I wish the author had given a complete casuality list of the 49th Fighter Group in terms of the following items:

1) Killed in action by air combat.
2) Killed by ground fire or by gunfire from enemy ship.
3) Killed in flying accidents due to the conditions of the airstrip on Leyte Island or because of enemy action.

4) Orignial group who start off at the Leyte airstrip in October through December 1944 and how many were left?

5) How many replacements did the 49th Fighter Group recieved and how many died in action or in flying accidents due to enemy action or some other mishap during the same time period?

If they tried to emphasize these battles like a meat grinder, then please give a complete casuality list; otherwise, the only time I hear of a meat grinder battle is those fought by the Germans since we have no hestitation about printing the German dead, wound, and POWs.

They should have made books like this years ago. Then we would know the horrors of World War II instead of glorying it through our culture for the last 62 years.

In the book Kenney Reports, Colonel Merian Cooper, who was General Kenney Chief of Staff, had worried that we were sticking our necks out if we invade Leyte. After reading Jungle Ace and some other books about how the Army had failed to secure a quick capture of the island, Col. Cooper was right. The battle of Leyte Island went on for nearly three months which was just as long as the battle for Normandy. After their defeat at the Battle of Leyte Gulf, the Japanese had other chances to destroy our shipping and airfields in order to bring the American invasion of the Philippines to the point of defeat if they had use their air power more efficiently.

My uncle is the Stanley Johnson briefly referenced in this book, who went MIA in Nov '43 while flying as Maj Bong's wingman. Somehow I feel he would have been honored to read this book. I wish my grandparents (his folks) could have read it too. It helps me to better understand what his final months were like, and what he and the others there accomplished. Thank you, Mr Bruning.

Just finished reading this book a few days ago, and I've got to say that it's one of the best WWII non-fiction books I've ever read. Not only is it easy to read and exciting, but Mr. Bruning skillfully covers some of the more technical aspects of Johnson's air combat battles.

Good for hard-core WWII air combat nuts (like me!) as well as the average reader. Anyone with any interest in combat aircraft, WWII, or great reading material in general will love this book!

-Scott Rudi

What Bruning has done in "Jungle Ace" is remarkable: he manages figuratively to bring to full flesh-and-blood life a man who has been dead for nearly 60 years. When I finished reading this biography, I felt I knew and understood Gerry Johnson: felt the weight of the command burden he carried, the exhilaration of victory in combat, the self-doubt when losses occurred, the grinding boredom of life in the SWPA, and the never-ending homesickness. I also got a sense of what he would be like in different situations: as a friend, as a commander, as a classmate.

This is exceedingly hard to do, but Bruning has done it: he somehow got long-ago memories jumpstarted, got people talking. While I accept that some of the quoted conversations probably did not take place word for word as presented, I feel the approach helps the book make the man more real. Charles Martin, in his bio of Tom McGuire, did the same thing, and it worked for both authors.

Thanks, Mr. Bruning for bringing a too-little known hero to light. You can be sure that my children will read about Gerry Johnson. When will you write another aviation biography? How about Charles H. MacDonald of the 475th FG?

Col Johnson was probably the best pilot of WWII. He was a P-38 pilot in the South Pacific and became a full Colonel and had 24 victories by the time he was 24 years old. It is a compelling true story with a tragic ending. I am very pleased this book was written because so few people have ever heard of this great leader,

If you like female detectives you must read the Kat Colorado series. They keep you guessing till the very end. Great story! I can see why this book won an award..

Loved this book. Very reminiscent of Sue Grafton's Kinsey Milhone series or even Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plumb.

Kat Colorado is a private investigator looking into her best friend's soon to be ex-husband's financial dealings in Las Vegas. In typical "girl in over her head" style, she bites off way more than she can chew and lands herself in the middle of a mystery involving casino skimming, real estate pyramid scams, and even murder.

Luckily, Kat is a take care of herself kind of girl and usually manages to land on her feet. But it certainly doesn't hurt the storyline when she meets up with local cop, Hank (or is it Hunk?)

Can't wait to read the next in the series

First book in the Kat Colorado series. Sacramento-based Investigator Kat Colorado tries to help her good friend Charity, who is going through a messy divorce. Charity suspects that her husband Sam has siphoned off $200,000 of their money and hidden it somewhere in an investment scheme in Las Vegas.

Kat goes to Las Vegas and meets an old friend from her youth who appears to be connected with some seamy characters in Las Vegas. She also meets a hunky copy named "Hank", although she frequently has a Freudian slip and calls him "Hunk". (Hopefully we will see more of "Hank the Hunk" in future books in this series!) This book has lots of laughs in it! Kat Colorado is a strong (and funny!)female protagonist who reminds me of Kinsey Millhone and Stephanie Plum. I can't wait to read the other books in this series!

I quite enjoyed reading this short, fast paced mystery introducing Kat Colorado, a female Sacramento PI.

Kijewski has defended setting her series in Sacramento, and I was quite interested in reading a book set in a smaller Californian city, but in fact Kat's debut case takes her off to Las Vegas in pursuit of a friend's no-good husband. As befits a mystery, things soon take a more murderous turn.

I liked the main character and was carried along by the energy of the narrative, though I think Kat does some rather silly things along the way. I will read more in the series.

After reading 6 of the 8 Kat colorado Novels I can honestly review them.


Kat Colorado is a former Bartender turned private Investigator in Sacramento CA. Like Many Mystery or suspense Protagonists she has a troubled past which she seems to wear like a badge of honor with her don't mess with me attitude. Surronded by quirky friends and hangers-on Like Alma her adoptive grandmother or Rafe her sort of cousin brother friend or Bill Henley her cop friend. But Katwalk Involves her best friend Charity and advice columnist who life is more troubled than her readers. When Charity's Husband Sam runs off to Vegas with $200,000 She asks Kat to Find out why. and Kat finds a plot in which Sam has got himself Involved and Kat Can't Leave well enough alone. SO begins a Recurring theme in the Kat Colorado Novels..... Kat finds a Plot, Kat sticks her nose in deep, Kat gets hurt, then Kat solves mystery usually picking up a new Hanger on... this time Hank(whom she called Hunk in a Fruedian slip when they first met) Katwalk Is a fun and easy read.. but the Usual mystery cliche's appear. but doesn't detract from the fun.

This series set in Southern California with a down home Georgia protagonist just keeps getting better. The ensemble crew, all flawed and interesting, keeps the action going and the solutions complex. Bravo.

No, not a diet book... Another Savannah Reid mystery.... Killer Calories by G. A. McKevett. This is one of the earlier ones in the series (the 3rd), and it is definitely a fun read.

A disco movie star (who happens to run a "health spa") is found dead in a mud bath. All indications point to an accidental death involving too much heat and too much alcohol. But Savannah gets an anonymous note with a load of money asking her to investigate the death. The letter seems to point to either suicide or murder. Savannah, who loves her food and her size, checks into the spa to do some undercover work. But between the horrible food and the excessive exercise, she wants to wrap it up as soon as possible.

Everyone seems to have loved the dead star, but there are an abundance of suspects who would benefit from her death. The harder Savannah pushes, the more her own life seems to be in danger. Plenty of twists, and you don't find out the killer until the very end.

A shorter novel, a quick read, and excellent humorous writing and character development. I'm really going to hate finishing up this series...

This is third in the series with Savannah Reid the overweight female ex-cop. I haven't quite figured out the sex angle. She shares a bedroom with a gorgeous young female assistant and has three close male friends, two of whom are gay and one of whom she finds physically unattractive. I came to it after "Cooked Goose" which is more of a thriller. This is more of a classical whodunnit although no real clues to the killer are planted, and after I had finished I decided the murder method made no sense. It has the British cosy set-up of a closed community (a health spa) containing the detective and the likely suspects, but I don't think Miss Marples would have told the frog joke.

G.A.McKevett does it again. Savannah is a delight! This was my favorite book in the series. This series gets better with each book . I can hardly wait for the next one to come out.

This was my favorite book of the three Savannah novels. She is a great character. I can hardly wait for the next one !

'Laurel and Hardy: The Magic Behind the Movies' is a great resource on the career of 'the boys'. The making of each film is covered in detail and there is quite a bit of biographical information sprinkled throughout. This was one of those books that I found hard to put down once I got started. Kudos to the author for providing a very informative and entertaining book!

Randy Skretvedt produced a highly entertaining and thought provoking work with the release of this work on two of the cinema's greatest comedy legends,Laurel and Hardy.
Most volumes up until this point had approached their careers in similar styles by focusing first on their backgrounds,early entries into showbusiness,their early careers,then into their most popular times and from there into their declining years.All filled with andecdotes either from friends,colleagues or the comedians themselves.
This book though giving a brief overview of the Boys careers examines each of their films starting with their silent shorts right through to their last film.What makes it different is that Randy examines each film from more of a production angle than any other book before has done.He explains in many cases how and why a particular film came into being and compares the original idea or storyline/script with the end product.It's a fascinating departure from the usual and gives a more detailed and informative look into the men behind the comedy,up front and behind the scenes.
I highly recommend this book to all students of film but especially to all fans of Laurel and Hardy.This is one book along with all of John McCabes' books,William K.Eversons' "Laurel and Hardy",Glenn Mitchells' "The Laurel and Hardy Encyclopedia" and Wes Gehrings' "Laurel and Hardy-A Bio-Bibliography" that should form the basis of your collection on the Boys.

Almost to good to be true. If you want to know anything or everything about Laurel & Hardy and all their movies and films, you can find it here in this wonderfully written book.

For years.Many film history books have tried to give some insight into the creation,development and the successful appeal of Laurel & Hardy's film work.With the exception of Leonard Maltin's"Movie Comedy Teams"and"The Great Movie Comedians!".No book seemed to show the readers how these classic comedies came about.Until now.Film historian,radio interviewer and musical entertainer:Randy Skrevedt's book"Laurel & Hardy:The Magic Behind The Movies!"finally gives us all a chance to see how these two great performers created and presented their cinematic clowning on screen and onstage.With the use of extensive research,interviews with the boys colleages,family members,friends and with staffers from The Hal Roach,MGM,Fox Studios and With Mr.Hal Roach Himself.The book shows us the creation of the team's films from their first effort:"Lucky Dog"to their earliest films at Roach to their glory days at:"The Lot Of Fun!".The book also tells us the true story of what finally lead to the duo's departure from Roach and the unsuccessful efforts to give the boys creative freedom at MGM & Fox.Where they made alot of forgetable films.And additionial info.L&H were slated to make ten features at Fox.Not six as many film history books have stated over the years.There is also some insight into the boys stage performances overseas in Music halls and cabrets during the late 1940's and into the early to mid 1950's.And a large collections of Photos from private collections.Plus in the updated second paperback edition.Info about the recently discovered spanish verison of"Chickens Come Home".Which features some never before seen footage(The newly found footage has little or bearing on the film's storyline.But it's interesting to read about it).These features plus some insight into the boys lives(Which does not get ugly)makes this a fun and informative manuscript and one that's long overdue.Bravo Randy! Kevin S.Butler.

To me, the Laurel and Hardy (L&H) team was easily the best comedy team of the first half of the 20th century. I realize others may have other favorites (Three Stooges, Our Gang, W.C. Fields (another of my personal favorites), Abbott and Costello (not one of my favorites), Marx Brothers, etc.) But the L&H team was beyond these other comedy teams. Randy Skretvet did these men proud with this book that traces them from the very beginning to their eventual demise. If one appreciates L&H and the comedy of the early 1900s they should appreciate this book.