This book might better have been titled "52 Romantic EATINGS," because all of the food-obsessed author's recommended dates are primarily about chowing down. None of these activities will spark or enhance romance--people who truly love each other don't need themed activities in order to enjoy being together. Only the truly desperate or romantically challenged would resort to the ridiculous "romantic recipes" in this book.

I think this is a great resource for people new to the city or who may be unfamiliar with the diverse possibilities in their search for spaces condusive to time together.

No guy should be without this book. I bought it on a lark and couldn't put the book down. The author gives us guys so many no-brainer ways to put a little romance into our lives. I recently began dating a wonderful woman and, thanks to this book, she thinks I'm a Cassanova! I like the way the author Miriam Carey gives *specific* places to go and things to do. Believe it or not, when I try to think of where to take my lady, my mind goes blank. Movies are about all I can think about. Now, with this book, I've already taken her swing dancing, and on a romantic lunch break picnic near where she works. I highly recommend this book to guys and girls too.

I found the lack of interesting photographs and monotonous prose to take away from the lore and fascination of Cleveland cemeteries. There is a wealth of information that is not presented. Trivial facts about those residents whom the author finds interesting, may fail to interest others. I wasn't interested in a written, walking tour. The point of walking tours is to discover for yourself what you find interesting.

I enjoyed reading "Cleveland Cemeteries" very much even though I am not from the Cleveland area. I have visited several of the sites with 'book in hand' and found the book easy to followed and accurate in detail. Anyone interested in the settlement of the Western Reserve would find this book appealing. Not only does the book contain facts and figures it focuses on points of special interest and mentions the famous and not so famous.

A novice genealogist will find the Ohio Resource list invaluable. Any future visits to a cemetery will have new meaning for me after reading "Cleveland Cemeteries". It has given me a curiosity for local cemeteries.

A well-written and readable book, "Cleveland Cemetaries" provides a thoroughly researched chronicle of many cemetaries across the city and biographical tidbits on some of the notable individuals located at each. I learned a great many things from the book, not only about these particular locations and individuals, but also about lifestyles during different periods in the history of the city. It was an interesting book and I plan to use it for future genealogical research and expeditions into the past.

I have undertaken the quest to read biographies of the past baseball heroes, and wanted to know more about Ol' Pete, so this book was an exact match.

I became a aware of a few editing mistakes, there is a picture caption that claims GCA won 26 games as a rookie yet the statistics show he won 28.

During a 3 page span there were a few mathematical mistakes dealing with GCA and surpassing Matty's career wins record. Page 110 said Pete needed 9 wins to pass Matty, then a few pages later it said GCA won his 6 game, 1 more needed to tie Matty. Certainly with the Mattty record changed later, this was just clearly an over site with numbers, hopefully it will be corrected with the paperback version up-coming.

A handful of the old-time players were certainly tragic firgures, and I guess Fitzgerald was right, when he said "Show me a hero and I'll write you a tragedy."

If you enjoyed this book, try the following: 1. Matty: An American Hero 2. Fouled Away: The Baseball tragedy of Hack Wilson 3. Rogers Hornsby: A Biography

I have always wondered why there was not more written about this early hero of baseball who seemed to have such a sad and tragic life, and was very excited when I found this book. Jack Kavanagh did a wonderful job of researching the ins and outs of Ol' Pete, and reading of his life and hardships was very informative. But I believe he allowed the book to drag just a bit by trying to include too much detail about meaningless games.

THIS IS THE STORY ABOUT ONE OF THE LEGENDARY PITCHERS OF THE GRAND OLD GAME. A TREMENDOUS ON THE FIELD SUCCESS AND OFF THE FIELD FAILURE. HIS 1926 WORLD SERIES IS LEGENDARY AS IS HIS STORIED CAREER. BUT HIS OFF THE FIELD DRINKING AND EPILEPSY IS VERY SHOCKING AND GUT WRENCHING. I WONDER WHAT SORT OF CAREER HE COULD HAVE HAD IF HE DIDN'T HAVE TO FIGHT THE DEMON OF ALCOHOLISM. ALEX'S PLAYING DAYS ARE DONE IN GREAT DETAIL, JUST WISH MORE WAS AVAILABLE ABOUT HIS PRIVATE LIFE. BUT A WELL DONE JOB BY THE AUTHOR. A MUST READ FOR BASEBALL HISTORY FANS.

I was impressed with the almost 4,000 bottles listed in this book. I was disappointed, however, in the limited number of pictures the author used. Several were very difficult to see and the descriptions were rather vague. The book is small enough in size to be taken along when shopping for old bottles and I find this to be very helpful. In the front of the book there are very brief tips on identifying, buying and selling bottles. I found these tips to be short but informative. I am only a novice to bottle collecting but I think this book would be good for a beginner or a veteran collector. My favorite feature of this book is its compact size. I like the fact that I can easily take it with me when I go shopping for bottles.

I just bought 4 different books on collecting bottles and the one thing this book has that the others do not, is lots of pictures. This REALLY helps especially when you are a beginning collector like myself. The descriptions are a bit short (for example, in other books they tell you size and color of the specific bottle) while this one usually does not go into that amount of detail. But for [price], this book really surprised me. I have to say that even though it does have its downfalls in lack of detail, it makes up for it by its pictures. And trust me, I have 3 other books and they probably contain an average of 20 pictures per book. This one has about 3-4 pictures every other page. I do not recommend this book if you are looking for just ONE reference to go by but if you are buying it as a companion reference, I highly recommmend it.

Milan Jacovich is in Lake County this time away from his turf in Cleveland Heights. Many characters revolve around a tiny, upscale Lake Erie Shores' election. While the book is a good read, the other Jacovich books read more quickly and are more intense, providing a more captivating read.

This is the first Milan Jacovich book of Les Roberts' that I've read and I was very happy that I gave it a try. Milan makes for an interesting protagonist. He's an ex-footballer; ex-policeman turned private investigator living in Cleveland, Ohio. While he's big and impressive in bearing, I wouldn't call him an overtly macho man, giving his character the extra bit of credence required in private investigator books, I believe.

In this particular case, Milan is asked, or more correctly, ordered by a mafia boss, to help a friend's wife in her mayoral election campaign. She is running for mayor in a small lakeside community. But Milan wonders what could possibly command the mafia's interest in a small, out of the way town. Like all stories involving election campaigns, whether big or small, political intrigue is the order of the day and the tactics can get dirty. Luckily, Milan has a cool head on his shoulders, and also the size to intimidate most opponents, ensuring there's rarely a dull moment when he's around.

I enjoyed this book, purely because the main protagonist is a very refreshing character and I'll be on the lookout for the other books in the series. Residents of Cleveland and surrounding areas would find an extra incentive to read the series because Roberts does go into quite a bit of detail when describing the city, while not exactly adding much to the story, I didn't feel as though it compromised it either.

I can`t believe someone lose time to write a book like that. This book is boring from the first to the last page.And from all possible sides of the book,the story,the pics,etc...When you think about the Cleveland Browns the first thing who come to you is the fans and the Dawg pound ,the author miss that part too.He can`t make you feel what it is to be a Browns fan.The way he write the story of the team and the player can`t keep your attention on the book.You have to read two or three time the same paragraph cause your eyes close by themselve.I gave two stars for the effort the author put in this book.But if you really want to buy this book take the paperback version cause the hardcover are double price.Keep the rest of money to buy another book about the Browns maybe you`re gonna be more lucky with the other one.

Whether you're in the Dawg Pound or watching from home, John Keim has penned a great book that takes you back to the glory days of the Browns. I couldn't put it down. Great game stories and profiles of players. If the team is as good as the book, they're headed for the Super Bowl.

While operating under an amusing premise. Mr. Amory fails to deliver a truly critical work and operates from a white, male, upperclass, anglophillc mentality. The work can be comic if you are lighthearted and even more so if you are light minded. Expect little constructive criticisms, and to be the target of several prejudices..

This is a delightful book and an invaluable resource to those many fellows who've looked up oe'r the past 20 years or more and wondered, "Sweet Mother of God, how did the country get into such a complete and chaotic mess!?"

Mr. Amory has provided a guidepost, a light in the darkness by which to view the deplorable and entirely putird circumstance that presently passes for our society.

And what does Mr. Amory do? Does he whine and snivel like so many truculant school girls or Gauloise ingesting graduate students littering the Etoille in between sopping up endless unemployment script and finding new ways to avoid bathing?

No, sir! Mr. Amory maps out not only the How's, Why's, and Wherefore's, he has given us solutions. That's right, solutions to myriad problems and how to set them right again.

Now, as the author himself will aver, there are many who will read this volume accidentally and be offended. And right there is one of your problems with nowadays - every man jack with sufficient means to read a Cracker Jax box is reading things not meant for him, or especially her, and running off at the mouth taking offense at every genuine remedy offered them. You'd think most of the country had been struck French!

But never mind about that. The point is I don't need to go into this and get agitated anew. Mr. Amory nominated himself to carry the spear and he has carried it well and done the work for us. And well done do, I might add. So, the next time you do something as silly as read the New York Times or watch network news, throw it out, turn it off, and read this marvelous book!

IRYHS

Cleveland Amory, making much ado about (often) nothing, is more of a fussbudget than a curmudgeon. His tone is mildly condescending, as though he is trying to be funny -- something like Asimov, but Asimov was brighter.

I forced myself to keep reading, in the name of Amazon.com reviews, even though every few pages put me to sleep. In the three days (!) it took me to wade through the muck, my entire sleep schedule was disrupted. My own cat, meanwhile, showed his dislike by repeatedly resting his ample, uh, tail on the book. I had to keep reminding myself that "The Cat and the Curmudgeon" was NOT the WORST book I had ever read. I planned to rate the book at a * or a generous **, all the while scheming to meet Amory in a bar for the purpose of dumping a drink on his cantankerous self.

The stock certificates were amusing, and I can smile at how Polar Bear has Amory wrapped around his little, uh, claw. However, I did not find the book, as a whole, to be enjoyable.

When I reached the VIth of VII chapters, I reevaluated my opinion. I did enjoy reading about the Fund's Ranch sanctuary -- enough so that I will be looking for Cleveland Amory's "Ranch of Dreams: A Lifelong Protector of Animals Shares the Story of His Extraordinary Sanctuary" (available on Amazon).

I'm not sure who is the curmudgeon, or if there are two. I found Amory's prattle unbearable at times. However, I can't help but like a fellow animal lover -- and indeed, the idea to tell women in fur that it makes them look fat, why, it's enough to earn the whole book an additional star right there.

In summary, I'm glad that I didn't spend $... on the book, but also glad that I read it, and glad that I supported my local Bookmobile in doing so. I will give Amory another chance.

I loved the idea of this book and I love what the author has done with his farm in Texas. But this story drug on forever. It's just not interesting. I found myself wanting to pick up another book.

I love animals and was happy to hear about Mr. Amory's work with animals rights. But I didn't find the book interesting.

This book is a continuation of his adventures with Polar Bear. I didn't find it as compelling as the first or third books in the series, but well worth reading. It's quite humorous reading about how Polar Bear deals with fame.

I really looked forward to reading this book, but the way Jan totally takes over the Middle Ages with no conflict to speak of is really disturbing. Jan just shows up, everyone falls into her plan, and it goes from there. Sadly, I didn't even finish the book since it appeared to be more of the same.

Janice Meredith Atwood has been groomed since birth to be a genius. Her mother, a failed time traveler, decides that Janice should travel to the medieval age to prevent the devastatingly deadly plague.

Jan goes back in time with all sorts of surgical instruments and equipment from the future. She appears at the cottage of Ethelred, a barber/surgeon who was burned at the stake for washing his hands and instruments, just before he's killed. She convinces King Edward and everyone else that she's from the future and is there to help. Will she succeed without messing up the future and more importantly, does she care?

Without a doubt, this is one of the funniest time travels I have ever read. The heroine changes history as we know it. It's enjoyable from a time travel or historical standpoint, but also as a comedic farce of a tried-and-true genre.

Kathy Boswell, Romantic Times Book Club

Good read. Jan's well-researched time travel sparks unrest in medieval England as she takes the reader on a journey into the age of plague and palaces. I found it well done and look forward to more journeys with Jan.

Elizabeth K. Davenport, George Wahr Publishing Co.

I agree with a couple of the previous reviews. This book was just packed with perfect people who always have perfect, politically correct, supportive reactions to EVERYTHING that is thrown their way. It is so boring because it is so predictable. Every character will always do the best possible thing. I could not connect with any of them. They seemed inhuman and unrealistic. I read Haien's The All of It and enjoyed that short novel, but Matters of Chance has nothing to recommend.

My book club read Haien's THE ALL OF IT and loved it. I was looking forward to another excellent book, but I was very disappointed. I didn't connect with any of the characters and I especially didn't care for the wartime descriptions; they didn't seem realistic. The twins were not characterized well; I didn't feel I knew them. Too much time passed, too quickly for any real feelings to develop. I have to admit I just skimmed the last half of the book to see what the big mystery re: the twins was. And that was anticlimatic. I liked the first novel so much better. It hardly seems to be the same author.

My only words to describe my experience was to a dear friend who also read this extraordinary novel and my words were "Okay, now what do I do". It left me feeling as if any other book I would read would pale in comparison.