Oh well...that is to be expected when you become the "super cop from Dallas". The hero who solved the murder case that no one else could.

This time it wasn't a house that had burned down, nor was it even a murder, yet. But to the caller, Chip Jamison, one of Ace's college football buddies, it was every bit as important. Joseph has been kidnapped, and the kidnappers are demanding a ransom. If they aren't paid immediately they are going to harm, or worse yet, kill Joseph. And since Ace is so good at his job, Chip knows that he can rescue Joseph. Besides Jake was the one who told Chip about Ace to begin with. What better recommendation could there be!

Ace needs the money; there is no getting around that. When Chip tells him that he will pay enough money to pay off all of his outstanding bills, and set him up for a while, how can Ace turn the guy down. So off to Canton, Ace goes. Just one problem, in the entire wangling and dealing Ace forgot to find out just who in the world Joseph is.

As Ace arrives at Chip's sprawling ranch he is immediately impressed with the size and grandeur of the place. He is at also both intrigued, and amused, at the way the servants, Frank and Annie, are dressed and act. However, he soon comes to discover many other strange things in Canton. Among these things is the fact that Wanda, Chip's sister has set her eyes on him and isn't going to let go. Of course one look at Wanda and Ace isn't in any hurry to get away anyway.

JOSEPH'S KIDNAPPING is absolutely fantastic. The story is full of fast suspense, humor, and reads smoothly without a confusing plot. All told from Jake's point of view. You soon come to the last pages and don't even realize that you have been reading all that time. JOSEPH'S KIDNAPPING as with all of Rusty Rawls books, play like a movie in your head. One that you don't want to miss any of, thus you just sit glued to the pages until that last sentence.

JOSEPH'S KIDNAPPING keeps your attention with action, adventure, love, lust and murder, all wrapped in a huge package of the wittiest humor you can imagine. One minute you will be sitting on the edge of your chair as Ace finds himself facing danger, and the next wiping tears of laughter from your eyes as Ace is trying to rid his home of a very unwelcome visitor. Ace's "partners" are just the topping on the cake. Labeled as "Attack Cat's" these two certainly live up to their name, however it is usually Ace who gets attacked.

JOSEPH'S KIDNAPPING is Mr.Rawls' second Ace Edwards mystery and I totally recommend it to everyone. It is a story you do not want to miss, by an author that completely draws you in and grabs your attention so fiercely you will only want more. Mr. Rawls is around to stay for a very long time, and I don't plan to miss one word that he writes. Buy it, read, it. And then sit back and wait patiently for another adventure with Ace, and his two partners Striker and Sweeper to receive another 3 AM call, so you can again go on that adventure with the three of them. I am. Randy Rawls has become addictive. And I don't want to be cured of the addiction.

When private investigator Ace Edwards is roused by the shrill of his phone in the dead of the night, he's not thrilled to hear the voice of an old college buddy on the other end. But his buddy sounds desperate and Edwards is in no position to turn down a paying job. He's also admittedly a little intrigued, and how could he not be? The buddy wants Edwards to save his ...-- literally.

With that premise, author Randy Rawls spins Edwards on a caper bigger than the Texas landscape on which the story is placed. It's no small adventure, and at times the cowboy P.I. feels a little out of place on the sprawling ranch where he bunks while trying to separate the good guys from the bad guys. But he brings his trusty companions with him -- two cats -- and in short order develops yet another friend, this one with long legs, a husky voice, and amorous intentions as vexing as they are attractive. Her name is Wanda, and between the push-me, pull-me relationship she offers and the increasing complexities of a kidnapping that evolves into murder, Edwards has his hands full.

Not to worry. Even if Edwards doesn't always know what he's doing, his creator surely does. Rawls skillfully paints his characters in affectionate and humorous terms that makes them as comfortable as family. Put another way: You'll want to take them home with you. By the time you've finished the story, you'll also want to eat. In Rawls' world, meals are the size of Montana, which in context of Texas probably makes sense.

As for the college buddy...? Rawls might just fool you with that one. Let him. The point isn't to outwit the private eye. It's to enjoy the ride with him.

"Joseph's Kidnapping" is Rawls' second Ace Edwards mystery. It's a well-crafted story penned by a writer who clearly knows how to tweak the ordinary into something refreshingly new. Buy it, read, then pester Rawls for a third. He could become addictive.

Then there is the obligation to your family to record their roots. Now is the time to dig out old papers, interview your older relatives and to research the family tree. Today, you can publish your book inexpensively one-at-a-time and distribute it to your family. You can even list it at Amazon.com to sell to other people with your family name.

Alan Canton is a gifted author and successful publisher with years in the industry. He writes from experience.

As a publisher, author of 113 books (including revisions and foreign-language editions) and over 500 magazine articles, I recommend this valuable book to all seniors with a book inside them. DanPoynter@ParaPublishing.com.

According to the author, in terms of economic changes, e-business will eventually dominate the traditional business practice. The industries that will be transformed by e-business included stock brokerage, insurance, travel, auto, chemicals, media and entertainment, computer and electronics, telecommunications, real estate, medicine and health care, etc. As Dr. Canton suggested, if we want to survive through the 21st century, we must learn how to adopt e-business technology.

In terms of social impacts, technology will bring impacts at both the personal and collective levels. In the future, our personal lives will involve computers, robots and virtual reality. Robots and computers will play a role as a companion such as a housekeeper, a secretary, or even a friend to human. And as for human, we will engage more activities via virtual reality such as playing golf. For the latter one, educational changes will be a good example. Educational institutions will change their formats of teaching. Instead of the traditional classroom learning, students and teachers will meet via virtual schools.

By means of frequent sidebars, the author has provided readers an insight of our evolving technological world with vivid scenes and dialogues amongst the robots, cyber companions and human. However, the design and placement of these sidebars, often of similar fonts right in between the texts proper, could sometimes be confusing. Also, the author could have arranged the hierarchy, if any, of the sub- and sub-sub-titles of his chapters better, so that the readers can better digest the often far-fetched subject matters. Indeed, the subject matters discussed sometimes verged on science fiction rather than scientific prediction. This is most evident in the author¡¦s discussion of cyborgs and androids, all, perhaps coincidentally, also prominently featured in Star Trek: The Next Generation. I do appreciate, however, the author¡¦s efforts in making technical matters easier to understand for lay persons. There is, as far as I can see, no one single formula in the book. The author is also good in presenting moral issues for deeper thoughts, such as that concerning eugenics.

Although Dr. Canton¡¦s future world may seem too advanced for most of us, we are in fact living in an information society. This book has provided me a chance to be aware of our technological developments and dare me to envision our future world from a non-traditional perspective. Overall, I enjoy reading the book.