New Jersey Books

Before Christie Todd Whitman became head of the Environtmental Protection Agency during President George W. Bush's first term, Christie Todd Whitman was New Jersey's first female governor. This book actually is quite intriguing at times about her privileged life. She was born into wealth and privilege but prefers the farming life in the country to the city. She hates wearing dresses and skirts and would rather wear jeans and t-shirts. She is quite appealing because she lacks that pretension. She loves farm animals and grew up in West New Jersey in the privileged, wealthy and prominent areas. Before she got into politics, she was a mother and wife dedicated to her husband and kids. I feel bad that I didn't vote for her second term but she won anyway. I regret that what came after her was the unbearable, scarred McGreevey years. The author writes about Whitman and humanizes her character. Years later after September 11, 2001, Whitman faced an uphill battle being blamed for the illnesses and sickness from the first responders. Some questioned Bush's appointment but she does a farming background and natural love for the rural country. I felt bad for her because it was really New York City's Mayor Rudolph Giuliani that should have been under the heat of the congressional panel. While Christie is no longer active in politics, she is trying to save the party of self-destruction. One of the reasons that I voted democratic was because the Republican is too far right-wing and conservative. I like Christie and I wish her well in the future.

Cockpit of the Revolution is a well researched book on New Jersey during the American Revolution. It covers the major events and politics affecting NJ throught the war, and gives references so you can investigate the data more thoroughly.

I picked this book up a few years ago from the author at a fire instructor class. I gave it a read and it was a pretty good book. I liked it because it was all true stories from NJ firefighters, mostly from northern NJ since the author is a Kearny firefighter. I guess firefighters from other areas would like it too. Id's say pick up a used copy here if you can since it seems to be out of print now. Some of the Emergency Services book stores still carry it I think.

This is a very nice little book, and I found it to be surprisingly readable. The book is nicely written. Standard ML is used to illustrate the technique of compiling a functional language using continuations as the primary intermediate representation. Lack of familiarity with ML is not particularly burdensome. I would like to have seen more discussion of other languages, though (Scheme?).

The text is very interesting and informative. The only thing that I would add is more victorian homes from Cape May. This makes a nice coffee table book.

Read this book in junior high. This history is fairly accurate and it's worth reading.

Owen Keane is perhaps the most unassuming, reluctant "hero" I've encountered recently between the covers! In fact, his reluctance to reveal much about himself was part of what made this an interesting mystery read. Not only does the reader get to wonder about the "case" he is working, we also wonder about his own background. What happened in his life that pushed him to become such a self effacing "hero"? (We only get a hint here and there.) In spite of this, he manages to uncover some very obscure truths, both about himself and the case. I look forward to reading more about him, just to satisfy my curiosity. He is enigmatic in himself. His relationships with his closest friends are also a bit out of the ordinary. Makes me want to know more about him. Guess that's a good ploy by the author to drive sales, and create a following of Owen Keane fans....

Philadelphia private detective Frank Sweeney visits Atlantic City searching for the missing brother of his best friend. It seems that Nick D'Angelo was a compulsive gambler, who vanished about six months ago. Frank quickly learns that Nick died in a fire set by an arsonist hit man, whose modus operandi is to trap his intended victims and watch them horribly suffer as they burn to death. ...... Frank starts to investigate the mysterious fire breather, who apparently has killed other people with his fire bombs. He traces the last days of Frank and asks questions of those individual who knew the former cop just before he died. As he comes closer to identifying the culprit behind the fiery deaths, Frank realizes that he himself might become the next seared casualty trapped in the heat of the night. ...... DEATH IN A DRY SEASON is a fiery thriller that will please fans of action novels and lovers of the high technology supporting today's gambling industry. Frank's personality is a strange combination of eastern philosophy with western inner city street smarts. Most of the time this works well, but occasionally the character appears a bit off centered. The story line is predictable, but is fun to read anyway as John Wells demonstrates he has the talent to take his private detective very far in today's market. ......Harriet Klausner

I own the 4th edition of this book printed in 1976 so it's almost as old as I am. Obviously some information is out of date, such as Bertram Island and the Terry Lou Zoo, which are both out of business. Regardless, it is still a very solid summary of things to do in NJ. It covers all the bases, from historical places, to parks, even golf courses (!!)

Sumaries are short and concise which allows for a lot of information to be packed into a small book. A very decent book.

The incredibly over the top and amazing space warfare continues.

There are a handful of Second Stage Lensman, those good enough at their craft to go beyond the Gray, and receive further treatment and training from the Arisians.

Kimball Kinnison is one of them, and he and his fellows, some of the best aliens you will meet in SF books, go out to do further battle. That is not all though, as Second Stage Lensmen abilities are ideally suited to spying and information gathering. The Second Stage powers include the 'sense of perception', an ability to sense what is going on around you, which basically gives you x-ray vision and the ability to see in the dark, among other things. Mind control is another.

The time spent with Nadreck, Worsel and Tregonsee, the other Second Stage Lensmen, is quite enjoyable.