This book charmed our family for quite a long time. It is a retelling of an African tale which traces the beginings of the mosquito's buzz. The disasterous effects involve many different animals with many different reactions. This tale is sure to amuse and delight any and all readers.

Before reading this book, i had no certain opinions about SMED system. There was a lack of knowledge and i could not apply this technique properly in the factory which I am working for. Now, i am applying SMED technique and decreasing setup times sharply even not under ten minutes. This book opens doors for its reader. Pay money and take it. !

I enjoyed it since it gave me insight on how TPS evolved and allowed me to better understand not how TPS works but more why.

Life in the Old West was perilous and uncertain. There were fortunes to be made in the gold fields and in the enterprises that followed the gold rush. Yet law enforcement was not well-established, and stagecoach and train robbers could wipe out a fortune as quickly as it was made. The Wells, Fargo Company needed a way to protect the great sums of money its coaches were responsible for delivering. It hired James B. Hume, a California lawman, to take charge of its detective bureau in 1873.

James Hume was a different breed from the stereotypical western lawman who winked at civil rights and abused authority. He was just as concerned that an innocent man be kept out of jail as he was that he find the guilty man. And he had an impressive record of catching the guilty man, the most famous being Black Bart, the "Po8" stage coach robber.

Pioneering methods of criminal investigation which are now used widely, James Hume dug pellets out of a dead stage horse in order to do a ballistics test, and he tracked down Black Bart with the laundry mark from his handkerchief. Determined but patient, he logged an impressive number of solved cases.

This biography by Richard Dillon reads as smoothly as a novel. He used James Hume's own letters and diaries, which are in the Wells, Fargo Museum in San Francisco, for his research as very little had been written about Hume's life. He not only relates the fascinating events of Hume's public life but mines his personality as well and finds a heroic and likable figure.

In a time when we could use more heroes, I enjoyed reading about a real-life hero who contributed to the colorful past of the West and still maintained his integrity.

Marie Dillon really hit the mark with her first romance novel. The main characters spar back and forth sending sparks flying! Slowly, and sensously the hero, Coult Wilder, winds Megan Alister into his web of love. She resists...but falls madly in love despite herself. This reader eagerly awaits a sequel!

This collection of essays and photographs marks the first (and hopefully not the last) serious attempt at reviving and redeeming the nearly annihilated and forgotten reputation of the late American photographer, William Mortensen (1897-1965).

While it is often true that a great artist never lives to see his ship come in, the opposite was true of Mortensen: In the late 1920s through early 1940s, his star was ascending, seemingly without end. Based in Laguna Beach, California, he was photographer to many of Hollywood's most famous, working with such acclaimed figures as Fay Wray, Cecil B. deMille and Marlene Dietrich. While his "pictorialist" style of photography -- painterly and posh, relying on soft-focus and darkroom knowhow to produced luxuriously toned and finished prints -- was favoured by the stars, clearly Mortensen found himself on the wrong side of history when it came to fine arts photography. The new "purist" movement, which celebrated the "straight," unadorned, print and a more documentarian style, was afoot and found no place for the Gothic-inspired Mortensen.

Except that's not quite the way it happened. For the f/64 group, spearheaded by Ansel Adams and Beaumont and Nancy Newhall (of the Museum of Modern Art), it was not enough merely to disagree philosophically with Mortensen. Had they done so, it would have been unlikely that Mortensen would have been forgotten and ignored so during his own lifetime and after his death, for he was something more than just another painterly salon photographer: His compositions were steeped in Gothic and Romantic traditions, his subject matter often whimsical, often bizarre, his style a strange combination of Lorenzo de Bernini, Edgar Allan Poe, Salvador Dali and Maxfield Parrish. Unfortunately for Mortensen, though, his eclectic aesthetic was viewed as bizarre and irrelevant by those hoisting the purist banner.

In his essay, "Beyond Recall," photographer A.D. Coleman -- who is quite sympathetic to the Adams aesthetic -- presents a scathing indictment of Adams and the Newhalls, and their active campaign to completely shut out Mortensen from the elite artistic inner circles. Although he never said so, it is evident from reading these essays that Mortensen died a broken man. Even after Mortensen's death, "Saint Ansel" Adams tried to prevent Mortensen's work from being archived at the Center for Creative Photography at the University of Arizona. Fortunately, for posterity, curator James Enyeart (who, though a friend of Adams) remained objective, and was instrumental in finding a permanent home for Mortensen's artistic legacy.

Sadly, little remains of his artistic output: Most of Mortensen's negaives are missing, whereabouts unknown. He also left few notes or letters. No conclusions can be drawn, but it is strongly suggested that by the time he died Mortensen felt so irrelevant to the history of photography that he never bothered to leave much behind.

However, the authors and editors of this handsome book have constructed a strong foundation on which to rebuild Mortensen's reputation. Michael Dawson's essay "William Mortensen: Gothic Modernist" and "William Mortensen and George Dunham: Photography as Collaboration," by Diane Dillon go a long way in providing a narrative to Mortensen's often quiet and secretive life, and in outlining his artistic method (Dunham's collection of prints, articles and memorabilia filled in many of the gaps in the Mortensen archive).

The book's only shortcoming is that while it has three excellent essays and a bibliography and chronology that put Mortensen's work in context of the greater photographical history of his time, it is a bit short on photographs. There are only about three dozen plates of his work, which -- while representative -- don't really do full justice to fleshing out his life's work. I would have loved to have seen more of his color portraits and nudes.

That said, don't let this stop you from buying this book. The printing is first rate, and so is the treatment of its sorely neglected subject. Admirers of William Mortensen can only hope for a more exhaustive book of photographs to be released in the near future.

After the last chapter of the Preacher series, this one comes back to where Jesse, Tulip and Cass were left off in Chapter 3. Ennis is taking his time bringing back the premise of the characters after their trip to Paris. His style is laid back, down to earth and not as shocking as his previous work.

The story starts off with Cass and Jesse in NYC getting ready to meet Tulip. After a rundown of the things that happened to them previously in Paris, Tulip shows that she's never to be underestimated under any circumstance. For that part, I think that would have been the most memorable thing in the whole book The gang head to New Orleans, when they come upon a hellbent Arseface that wants to kill them all. Good thing he decides otherwise and actually joins the group to become a sensational singer. This goes to show you that not only is Ennis is sick, he is the pure essence of evil when it comes in creating pitiful characters that you just love to make fun of. Another thing that makes this guy pure unadulterated king of BAD (sorry Michael Jackson), is the fact that he creates a love triangle between Tulip, Cass and Jesse. I, for one, want to see what the heck will happen in that department.

Dillon is back. Can't say he's back with a vengeance since his style really is adamant in not changing at all. His work is a sight for sore eyes to tell you the truth, since he was AWOL during the last chapter. He carries the book as usually gracefully.

Not a bad book, but not a good one either. I don't know if it's lack of creative idea or direction, but Ennis and Dillon should pick themselves up pretty quickly if they want to keep their readers interested in their characters. Preacher was original when it first came out. Let's just hope that the characters and story remain that way till the end of the series.

I by no means want to jump on the bandwagon here, if you're reading up on Dixie Fried on this page and wondering whether or not to buy it you're probabley getting pretty discouraged. However, hear me out, no puzzle is complete without all of the pieces, and the same goes for the Preacher volumes. This is essential reading for any fan of the series who is embarking upon the entire literary journey from Gone to Texas to Alamo. Dixie Fried reuintes Jesse with Tulip after he ditched her in Proud Americans, and a revelation from Cass impacts the entire series for the remainder of the story. So hear me out, this is NOT a bad story, it's fine, but not slack jawed bliss like the other volumes. It's essential reading for anyone who isn't too lazy to get the entire story from the prolouge in Alamo. Also take note that there is a exceptional romp that starts the story collected from the Preacher SPECIAL: Cassidy, Blood and Whiskey. This is the best part of the book and the reason I didn't give Dixie Fried a ***. And I'm out.

This (the fifth volume of the Preacher series) is a step up from the slow down that occurred after The Grail storyline (a definite high point). Jesse, Tulip, and Cass are all back together and the stories in this volume give the most insight to Cass and start to make him more of a character and not so much a characture.

New readers be warned...Preacher is not the kind of series that you can jump onto at any point...start with Book #1 - GONE TO TEXAS.

For those of you who have been along for the ride let's just say that Dixie Fried gives us more of what we love: dark humor, violence, disturbing ideas, masochism, sex, swearing, and even ArseFace (who makes me sick to my stomach every time).

The story telling is of A-quality and the only minor stumbling points are: weaker villains...who don't portray much menace for our protagonistic three, and a lack of Herr Starr (everyone's favorite whipping boy),

I myself have not yet read Volumes 6-9 but I'm heading in that direction and I guarantee that anyone who starts reading these adventures in GONE TO TEXAS will end up at THE ALAMO.

Humperdido!

This was the first book that I've read by Catherine Coulter, it was a great book! I couldn't put it down, it was very fast paced and she keeps you guessing all the way to the end! I am now going to read all of her FBI Suspense Thrillers.

The Cove is a little town made up only of old folk who sell the World's Greatest Ice Cream. Everything is picture perfect. No potholes, no peeling paint, and flowers everywhere. Sally's Aunt Amabel lived in The Cove. It was to Amabel she ran when she escaped the mental institute. Everyone believed she had murdered her father and was insane.
FBI Special Agent James Quinlan comes into town to find Sally. His cover is as a private investigator sent to check out the death of a couple of elderly tourist who had disappeared near The Cove three years before. He asked questions never knowing what he would uncover and how it indirectly linked to Sally. James soon realized that Sally was not crazy at all. But she IS the key to everything.
***The suspense, mysteries, and close calls are nonstop in this one! Catherine Coulter has turned me into a big fan! The Maze takes a subcharacter from this book and gives him his own story. I can hardly wait to read it. Ms Coulter, in my humble opinion, could very well be the Queen Of Romantic Suspense.***

I thought the book was outstanding. After I read it, I went out and bought the Edge, Target, Impulse, the maze, False Pretenses, Eden..and all of the rest of the mysteries that I have left out...I wasn't disappointed by a single one. I can't wait for Hemlock Bay on Monday. I thought her writing was awsome, the characters were great..and the story lines for all kept me hooked...Oh, please keep writing these types of stories..

This was a pretty good book, but i think Higgins could have done better. Oh yes, for the most part the story was exciting and kept you turning the pages, but some parts just went to quickly..Higgins should have built up to it a bit more, or put some more action into it..Also, he took too long to pull everything together...it was way to quick in the beginning, and then it slowed down considerably for about 100 pages, and then at the end picked back up again...The story is about an old lady who's paramilitary-type son was killed by IRA branch terrorists years ago, and she finally learns the terrible truth behind his grizzly murder. Driven by rage, and the realization that her life was near its end, she goes on a mad killing spree against the people that killed her son..Our favorite Irishman, Sean Dillon is involved, along with his good friend Blake Johnson, as they try to figure out who the mystery person is that is killing off left-wing terrorists left and right... An exciting tale to say the least, but it could have been put together better..other than that i have no complaints and i do reccomend this book if you especially like Higgins, but if you are a "new kid" then i suggest you start with some of his earlier books..

In The White House Connection, Jack Higgins, the prolific thriller writer has again reprised former IRA terrorist Sean Dillon, Brigadier Charles Ferguson,Hannah Bernstein and Blake Johnson in a fast paced story where the combined talents of British and American intelligence are used to thwart Irish terrorism.

In this continuation of the Sean Dillon saga, Higgins introduces an unlikely opponent for the combined US/UK intell team as they try to determine who is killing off the Sons of Erin and why. That killer, a woman, is as unlikely as any protagonist Higgins has ever used. Without revealing the person's identity (although the author does so early on), suffice it to say that the concept is improbable and unlikely. It seemed as if Higgins was really reaching for something with this book and the reader needs to suspend disbelief more than is usual for novels of this type.

In the process of leading the reader through the story, Higgins does his usual good job of providing history lessons right where they are needed to give readers the needed background to explain or amplify why he has written a character or scene a certain way. His intertwining of certain historical facts, especially those on Irish rebel history immediately explain why a Protestant Irish American would be a member of the IRA when everyone knows that the enmity between Catholics and Protestants in Ulster is legendary. When Higgins does this, he is at his best.

Another noticeable and at times very annoying feature of this book is that the dialogue Higgins gives the American characters is more British than American. In some cases it is more Irish than American. It almost seems as if Higgins has no knowledge whatever of American idiom and doesn't know how to write using our speech patterns. If you are a fan and doubt this style problem, go back and look closely for it. EVERYONE sounds British. Sean Dillon, the former IRA killer is also inconsistent in his speech patterns as well. Higgins' use of Irish idiom is overdone and also becomes annoying, mostly because it's so unnecessary.

Despite my minor annoyances and critiques here, overall, this is a very enjoyable read. The usual Higgins mastery of scene, atmosphere, characterization, tension and pacing all here. If the reader is familiar with the British cast of characters, this book reads quickly and well because we are all glad to be reunited with Sean Dillon and his boss, Brigadier Charles Ferguson.

Higgins also provides some really despicable opposition to the intelligence folks. One, named Jack Barry is so hoorible that most readers will probably be praying for his death. This is the kind of book one can easily read over a weekend or on the beach. Despite some minor and easily forgivable irritants, THE WHITE HOUSE CONNECTION is another successful and fast ride through the creative mind of Jack Higgins. If he had avoided overuse of British speech patterns and a more than usually unbelievable main character, I would have awarded this book 5 stars; so with these things in mind, I gave it 4 stars.

Fans of Higgins shouldn't miss this one and I recommend to all serious readers of espionage and police procedural novels.

Jack Higgins is a terrific storyteller. This was my first Higgins novel and the pages flew by. Reading this book was like eating peanuts...I could not stop and finished in two sessions.

An absolute complete suspension of disbelief is the best way to approach this one as it stretches credulity to beyond the max...but it is great fun. And, what is fiction all about, if not for suspension of disbelief? Some of the situations the protagonists get out of would make James Bond proud.

In the setup, the first quarter of the book is pretty credible and then the fun begins. The action switches between Washington, New York, London and Ireland...lots of Concorde flights, tony parties and champaign between the gun shots. The good guys are interesting characters and the bad guys seem a match for them due to their mole inside the White House. The reader is clued into the mole's identity early on, so we know whodunit...so we have to watch the clock to see if the good guys can figure it out in time.

It was an enjoyable read all in all. The protagonists are continuing characters and it appears their ranks increased by one in "The White House Connections." That's good news for Higgins' fans as he is a prolific writer.

That said, it was "too Brit" and "too IRA" for me to become addicted to the series. It was a fun one-time interlude for someone who prefers the good old American hardboiled mystery. For those who like the British touch, this series is a keeper.

This is a sequel to Higgins's thriller, Edge of Danger, in which Kate Rashid, a wealthy, murderous, Arab woman tried to assassinate the American President, but failed and saw her three brothers killed in the attempt. In Midnight Runner, Kate swears vengance on the President and all who foiled her. In the weakest aspect of the plot, the President, with awesone power at his disposal, instead asks Daniel Quinn, a former American Special Forces sergeant, to investigate and derail the all-powerful Kate Rashid. When I read this in the early chapters, I thought, "Oh, no, not another John Wayne type defeating an army of bad guys with one hand. We've seen it in a hundred bad novels and movies." But Higgins is too clever for such banality, and Quinn fizzles into ineffectiveness. It remains for our old friend, Sean Dillon, ex-IRA operative, now with a British spy agency, to go after Kate Rashid and her minions. She plans to bring down the American President by cutting off the major supply of oil to the United States. She also plans to murder everyone, including Sean Dillon, who helped kill her brothers. Dillon, together with his boss, General Ferguson, and other friends, stops her, but it's a big fight. There is plenty of action throughout the book, and the final chapters will keep you turning those pages.

Jack Higgins returns again with his usual bunch of characters.

This time around it's Lady Kate Rashid's turn to seek vengeance on the President of the USA as well as Sean Dillon and others. It seems her three brothers were killed attempting to assassinate the president (Edge of Danger). Kate Rashid is one the richest women in the world and thus, has the power to get what she wants. Needless to say, she has no idea what she's soon to come up against: Sean Dillon, Blake Johnson, Harry and Billy Salter, Roper, Daniel Quinn and others.

A fast-paced thriller. The character of Sean Dillon is reminding me more and more of a character by the name of Dirk Pitt. You thriller readers know whom I'm talking about. Somehow you just know that no task is impossible. Of course Dirk still rules. This novel was comparable to the previous Dillon novels.
A suspenseful and quick read.

Recommended

Midnight Runner continues the adventures of Sean Dillon and his colleagues dealing with Kate Rashid. Ms. Rashid is the only member of her immediate family still living but now she is joined by her cousin as she seeks revenge.

I really enjoyed this book and the action packed adventure that Mr. Higgins has written. It is an interesting plot and a very enjoyable read.

I love the Sean Dillon character and I only wish that someday Jack Higgins will give more ink to Hannah Bernstein - She is an interesting character and deserves to be more fully involved in the plot and story development.