It's been a year-and-a-half since Hal Erickson's "Sid and Marty Krofft" was published...too long for this reader, as Mr. Erickson is quickly becoming as vital to the world of TV history as Brooks and Marsh. The bulk of "From Beautiful Downtown Burbank" recaps the origin, growth, and ultimate demise of "Laugh-In" with Mr. Erickson's trademark savvy enthusiasm, the kind that comes only aftermonths of research and interviews. What's more, the book's appendix isn't to be missed, since you'd be hard pressed to find a more thorough "Laugh-In" episode guide anywhere (it even includes the never-been-syndicated sixth season). The lack of photographs is completely made up for by Mr. Erickson's gifted ability to recreate the show's backstage atmosphere. Can't ask for more than that in a history book... Perhaps the only question the book doesn't answer: why Ian Bernard replaced the program'soriginal theme song in the 2nd, 3rd, & 4th season, only to resurrect it in the 5th. Asking that is pure hairsplitting, though, and shouldn't dissuade anybody from doing themselves the favor of purchasing this book,a gripping read from a multi-talented writer. So until Columbia House or Rhino immortalize "Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In" (heck, even after they do), "From Beautiful Downtown Burbank" is the definitive tribute to a marvelous and groundbreaking program.

A very worthwhile piece of literature which belongs in any library of comedy or television. It chronicals the history of one of the best and most inventive events in TV history. The book is more the history of the show than the humor but it does contain lots of the wit and the flavor.. Now I want a book of the jokes with photos. Good work.. Buy it.

A thorough history of a legendary television classic. The book paints a picture of the popular culture of a time that will surely not be repeated. I highly recommend this for anyone who wants to learn about a fascinating era or just simply wants to revisit a phenomenon long gone.

T.S. Eliot raises some intriguing questions in Choruses from the Rock concerning the knowledge we may lose in information or the wisdom we may lose in knowledge. Patricia Sloane's book belies these losses, for in her book no knowledge is lost in information and no wisdom is lost in knowledge. This book is by far the most amazing piece of scholarship it has ever been my pleasure to come across. Ostensibly about a couple of Eliot's early poems, the book is packed with insights into so many different threads of history and literary history that it would be impossible to list them all even in a much longer review. I would not hesitate in calling Patricia Sloane the most careful reader of them all. The book is full of surprises every step of the way, and the surprises always strike the reader as exemplifying the art of reading at its very best. I would call what Patricia Sloane does the art of "corrective" reading, for she shows us in innumerable and always highly convincing ways that readers who have found innuendoes of anti-Semitism in some of T.S. Eliot's poems have simply missed the point. The so-called anti-Semitic passages are actually criticisms of anti-Semitism, occasionally in the most playful of ways. One of the things this amazingly scholarly and wonderfully readable book does is to explore and expose the nature of prejudicial readings that find fault not because the fault is in the text but because they read the fault into the text. Patricia Slaone traces with easy-going relentlessness all the intricate connections that can possibly be found in Eliot's poems - between Eliot and Dante, on the one hand, or Eliot and James Joyce, on the other. These connections then highlight innumerable others, implicating Homer as well as the Bible in refreshing new connections that finally culminate in the largest possible context the human mind is capable of holding. While reading this book I kept saying "yes, of course," though what I found myself assenting to is not so much an example of Alexander Pope's famous observation about what often was thought but never so well expressed, but a completely new arrangement of this observation, for reading Patricia Sloane's first volume in a projected trilogy strikes the reader more in the nature of what never was thought until Patricia Slaone has finally expressed it. And now that she has, we cannot help but think it. Her book on T.S. Eliot is probably the best out there. I am certainly looking forward to the volumes to follow.

Highly recommended for anyone interested in Eliot's poetic method in general, especially of the earlier work, and obviously the Bleistein poems in particular. A must read for any academic whose work touches upon (supposed) anti-Semitism, the Bleistein and Sweeney poems, and Eliot's method of allusion and satire. I'm looking forward to reading the next two volumes in the series of which this is the first.

Arwin

(Shyamal Bagchee, who wrote the introduction, is the Vice-President of the T. S. Eliot Society and the founder of the Yeats-Eliot Review.)

Tectonic Geomorphology

A new 274-page book on tectonic geomorphology has been authored by Douglas Burbank of Penn State, and Robert Anderson of the University of California at Santa Cruz. Tectonic geomorphology is a new branch of geology that evaluates the "unrelenting competition between tectonic processes that tend to build topography, and the surface processes that tend to tear them down."

This affordable soft-bound book is organized into 11 chapters, as follows: (1) Introduction, (2) Geomorphic Markers, (3) Establishing Timing in the Landscape - Dating Methods, (4) Stress, Faults, and Folds, (5) Short-term Deformation - Geodesy, (6) Paleoseismology, (7) Rates of Erosion and Uplift, (8) Holocene Deformation and Landscape Processes, (9) Deformation and Geomorphology at Intermediate Time Scales, (11) Numerical Modeling of Landscape Evolution.

The book is targeted for upper-division undergraduates, first-year graduate students in geology, and for working engineering geologists who need an update in tectonic geomorphology. There are 461 references, most of them within the past five years, so the book contains a robust foundation of new citations that will be particularly useful for students.

The authors include nine developments that have driven rapid changes in tectonic geomorphology: new age-dating methods, process-oriented geomorphic studies, new insights into past climatic change, new geodetic tools (like GPS), paleoseismology methods (like trenching of active faults), new ability for physical characterization of faulting and folding, new digital topographic methods (like GPR), and accessibility to high-speed computing for numerical modeling of geomorphic processes.

The geomorphic concepts explained in the text are shown in 295 line-drawings or sketches (black & white) that have been carefully redrawn for clarity from the original sources. There is minimal use of field photographs, and no color is employed. Instead, the authors utilize drawings, graphs, cross sections, and simplified maps to convey geomorphic concepts. Quantitive methods are emphasized, yet the book is not burdened by difficult higher mathematics.

"Tectonic Geomorphology" is highly recommended for the following reasons: (1) understandable explanations of complex geologic processes are provided in clear diagrams, (2)world-wide examples are used, (3) modern interdisciplinary approaches are emphasized, (4) a robust bibliography is provided, and (5) the book is affordable and represents "good value" for students and working professionals alike.

It was unusual in the 50's for a girl to be interested in Science. I became interested because of this book.

In Olympic Dreams: The Impact Of Megaevents On Local Politics, Matthew Burbank, Gregory Andranovich, and Charles Heying effectively collaborate to survey the controversial questions arising when municipalities compete for, and agree to support the staging of a manor international event. Using Los Angeles, Atlanta, and Salt Lake City as case examples of American cities which hosted the Olympics, the authors present a comprehensive study of what precedes and ultimately follows this international sporting event, its impact on the municipality's political and financial economy. Very highly recommended reading for students of political science and international studies, Olympic Dreams is a particularly timely contribution in light of recent international meetings sponsored by the World Trade Organization, The World Bank, Organization of American States, and various United Nations organizations holding their conferences and meetings in American cities.

I had the opportunity to meet Leslie and her husband Leland in Germany this year. This was the first book that I have read by Ms. Burbank, and I was completely swept away with the stories. Secret of the Sea is a novella duet that will totally enchant you, and make you believe in fairytales, and in the mystical and magical world of the mermaid.

Book One is Lady Syren, set in Scotland in the Hebrides 1513. In Lady Syren we meet Syren who is a mermaid. She makes a wish that she may one day find a human man, one that will love her. She gets her wish when Kieran "The Black McLeod" is stabbed and dumped overboard by his enemy Captain Stewart. Syren rescues Kieran and takes him back to her home along the coast of Scotland and nurses him back to health. Kieran is a pirate and has been given the option by King James IV of Scotland of a pardon if Kieran marries. Kieran feels that his best chance of marriage would be to the lovely Syren. Only problem is he does not realize that she is a mermaid. Syren is allowed to walk on land during the day by transforms at nightfall back into a mermaid. Syren agrees to Kieran's marriage proposal only if he will take her to Siren Isle where it is fabled that a necklace that will give immortality to a human will also give a mermaid the gift of mortality. Syren wants to be human in the worst way. A deal is made but neither Kieran nor Syren is sure that they can trust one another. They are both drawn to each other but there is much that they both keep secret from each other. Kieran has also had everyone that he has ever loved taken from him so he is not ready to give his heart yet again. Eventually Kieran finds out that Syren is a mermaid, and by this time he has fallen in love with the beautiful siren. He will only accept marriage to her if she loves in him return. Of course she does but these to lovers must first triumph over the evil Captain Stewart and then there is the dangerous trip to Siren Isle that must be overcome before there can be a happy ending for these two people. This was a great story set during one of my favorite time periods, you won't be able to put the book down before you read the ending of this one.

In book two Lord Nerus Theodora Redman aka Red is a reporter for The Tattler, and her job is to debunk all things mystical and magical. Red is sent to Scotland to find out if the myth of the Finn Man is true or fiction. In Red's opinion this does not even require a trip but since the paper is paying for it she is willing to go. On her way out to the outer islands that make up Scotland her ferry is overtaken by a squall and she is washed overboard. She is rescued by none other then Finn Man himself. Nerus is held by a curse that he must marry a mortal in order to have his race continue. The last time he had a mortal on his island she jumped to her death after finding out her man of her dreams was indeed a merman. He is not willing to take another chance on that; problem is he finds himself totally drawn to Red in ways he can't describe. Red on the other hand feels that she is not the stuff of romance, and that no man in his right mind will be taken with her. She is the ultimate tomboy. Imagine her surprise to find herself attracted to the very handsome Nerus. After these two finally realize that they can't run away from their attraction to each other and give in to the wonder of what they feel Red finds out that the one thing she did not believe in is the one person that she has fallen in love with. Nerus sends her away because he does not want the mortal population overrunning his island, but finds that he can't live without his Red. As a result he goes back to the human world and tries to get Red back before he dies. Will she be willing to give up everything mortal to live in his world? You must read the book to find out for yourself.

Like I stated before these are two wonderful stories and I can hardly wait to get started on the next book that I have by her, which is "To Tame A Viking". Thanks Leslie for a great read!

In recent move for consilience of the sciences, I found myself in search of "A Gardener Touched with Genius: the Life of Luther Burback". He has made tremendous changes in American and international fruit and vegetable variety and acceptance. As physician I must say this improves our nutritional choices. I was thrilled to see the photograph of Luther Burbank together with Henry Ford and with Hugo de Vries in California. Hugo de Vries of the University of Leiden, in the Netherlands brought to light the writings of Gregor Mendel, furthered the genetic research, and wrote on Mutation theory in 1910. The life of Luther Burbank is good reading and will encourage future scientists to reach out and ask questions.

The "revised edition" (1985) is almost a completely new version of the first edition. Peter Dreyer has done remarkable work interviewing primary sources and unearthing new material. In Dreyer's telling of the life of Luther Burbank, the great American horticulturalist, it seems that no stone, no document, no illuminating background material is ignored. This is Luther Burbank, warts and all. The flavor and sense of this complicated man come across vividly, and the result is we see Burbank in all his paradoxical dimensions: successful plant-breeder who had two fruitless marriages; public image as sage and saint but seen close-up by some as a cold, defensive person; a man who could display profound modesty then sudden blatant self-praise. In this biography there arises a sense that he was a man way ahead of his time, Luther Burbank as the Patron Saint of the New Age.

To Tame a Viking is a book that includes two different stories about one family, a brother and a sister. The stories are romantic and fanciful and set in Scotland, Ireland, and Iceland.

These were fast paced stories that were fun to read and entertaining. The chemistry and romance between the main characters Silke and Steel in "Lord Steele" was wonderful as was the romance between Aragon and Thora in "Lady Thunder." Ms. Burbank is a great author, and she gives attention to details that help place you in the time period that she is writing about. I look forward to reading more of her stories in the future!

Leslie Burbank has shown enormous strength as a writer with her debut novella duet. The two stories meld together to form one continuous story. In Lord Steele, Silke is a warrior queen with the determination of ten men, but it only takes one to bring out the woman in her.

In Lady Thunder we meet Aragon, Silke's brother, who just happens to be a beserker. But the wolf in him is no match against the woman who soothes the mighty beast and steals his heart.

Full of action and sizzling with passion, Leslie Burbank has done an outstanding job of bringing to life a set of characters you won't soon forget, or want to.

I found this book extremely useful both for the information it shared about the Hut avaliablity and the descriptions of each area. I was able to plan a well thought out trip using this guide. The maps that it provided were O.k. but not as helpful as they could have been. Because it was small I was able to carry it with me on my adventure and not have it take up a lot of room.

This book has a refreshing view point on quilting. Doreen, must be aware that there are a lot of weekend quilters out there hooked on those delightful 5" squares--I certainly am. What better way to use them in the simple and quick projects that she presents in her book. The only negative response to her book was: color examples were used sparsely at the beginning and end of the book. The middle was mostly black and white used for teaching examples. My enthusiasm fell off as soon as I saw the black and white examples. If I had been in a quilt store I'd have put the book back on the shelf just because of the lack of color. Her ideas are so wonderful, but why couldn't she have put the drawn examples of whole quilts in color and just used the assembly blocks in black and white? Quilters love color! My enthusiasm just fizzled when I saw the black and white. I would willingly pay more for a great idea expressed in paperback if it is full color. I hope her great ideas keep coming but in full color. However, I am glad I own it, because I buy the 5" squares quite often from mail order houses. The book format was simple and easy to read. Publishing in paperback cuts publishing cost, therefore I think more expense could have been put into color examples