This doesn't come up to the quality of Chessman's Lydia Cassatt Reads the Morning Paper. Although the story itself is interesting, there is too much jumping from one point of view to another to allow much development of any one character in such a short novel, and it felt fragmented to me, with an artificial ending.

This is the beautiful FIRST novel (not second!) by the acclaimed author of Lydia Cassatt Reading the Morning Paper. Both Ohio Angels and Lydia Cassatt . . . center around questions of an artist's effort to understand and represent someone much loved. And in both, Chessman imagines what it's like to be on the other side of the canvas. I found this earlier story as intimate and moving as the second, and interesting in its use of fragments, each offering a different character's point of view. I recommend it to anyone who cherishes writing that lingers with you long after you come to the last word.

Ohio Angels is Harriet Scott Chessman's debut novel about the emotional conflicts of two female friends who have to balance their own talents and needs with the demands of family - whether caring for an aging, demanding mother or supporting a husband's career or abandoning one's own talents to look after children. Very strongly recommended for its thoughtful examination of conflicting pulls upon woman's life, Ohio Angels very clearly documents Chessman as an accomplished novelist with a particular gift for writing literate prose with a pronounced lyrical flair.

What happens when one of the most successful advertising agents in Cleveland disappears from his posh home in Pepper Pike without a trace? After being called by a frantic Richard Amber in need of a bodyguard, Milan Jacovich drove directly to Mr. Amber's elegant home, only to find that he was not there. After a night of waiting and wondering, Jacovich received a phone call from Mr. Amber's wife, Judith Amber, asking for his assistance, not as a bodyguard, but as a private investigator. Mr. Amber had disappeared.

The Ambers were an apparently happy and well-off couple, or that is how they appeared. In actuality, their marriage was one of convenience. Richard Amber's success had been arranged by his wife, Judith; he owed his success to her financial and social status. When Richard Amber disappeared, Judith Amber chose to keep his disappearance a secret from all but those closest to the situation.

Milan Jakovich, a private investigator, was permitted to question Richard Amber's girl friends (current and past) and colleagues (Jerry Stendall, Senior Vice-President of Marbury-Stendall; John Marbury, owner of Marbury-Stendall, and Jeff Monaghan, supposed best friend of Richard Amber). His attempts to question Walter Deming, Judith's uncle and owner of Deming Steel (both Richard's and Marbury-Stendall's largest account), were discouraged and, when eventually permitted, involved at attempt on Jakovich's life.

After having his life threatened, Jacovich was determined to find the man who both attempted to kill him, and who was Amber's killer. The outcome is shocking, and will make you think twice about every person you meet for the rest of your life.

Given that I practically grew up in Cleveland and have friends from Pepper Pike, this was an interesting and enjoyable read. This is Roberts first effort in the Milan Jacovich series. I fortunately read his latest effort (The Dutch) first and then had to backtrack and read the first effort. Most of the plot seemed straight out of a TV special, but the richness of the characters, the setting and the all around likability of Jacovich made this a fast, fun read.

You can expect that I will read the rest of the series!

Pepper Pike is truly a great book. It displays great character development to go along with great plot development. The main character of this story is Milan Jacovich, a Slovenian. He is an ex-cop, ex-military police officer, and ex-football player. He uses all of his jobs and experiences is his private investagation work. The story starts with a call that he recives from someone needing his services. Richard Amber. He accepts the job, but the man he is working for is missing. It is now Milan's job to find this man and find out about his past and present. He has to find every friend, associate, partner, and friend of Richard Amber. He is successful in finding mistresses and possible accomplices to this enigma. He is successful in finding someone very important to whom I will not reveal. This book is a must read.

This book had so many issues, but Ms. Carter wove them together very well. The issue of Sickle Cell was the most profound. There are so many African Americans with this disease. I liked the way they explained exactly what the disease does to your body.

I loved the little girl Sandy. It seems she really loved her mother, eventhough she was not what we could say a "good one". I also enjoyed Cassie and her friend. Her friend learned a good lesson about beauty being in the eye of the beholder.

This was a wonderful love story, that I think you will enjoy.

This romance novel was great. I felt the characters were very realistic with what is going on in the world today. I enjoyed this read very much. Ms. Carter is a very talented Lady and I look forward to her next novel. Keep up the good work.

Picture Perfect is the perfect example of how the right words hooked up just right can tell a touching story. There were parts that made me glad, a little sad, and then happy all over again, at the same time sharing some knowledge of Sickle Cell Anemia that afflicts so many African Americans today. Cassidy tries to put her love for Brian on the back-burner when she learns that she has the trait, but true love wins out. With an interesting array of characters, the reader can't help but find PICTURE PERFECT a warm and amusing story that will keep you turning the pages. Reon Carter - you go girl! Debra Phillips (author of: Kiss Or Keep)

This is a hands-on approach to teaching kids social skills. It has all those great lessons I never can think of when the time is right.

All papers and materials are easy to use and the activities are worth investing the time in.

This book has been a life-saver for me as a new school counselor. It addresses many social skills issues which need to be addressed in the elementary school setting. It includes everything from how to make and keep friends, to anger, self-control and everything in between. Really a great resource!!

This book is a great resource for teachers, administrators, and parents! It offers activities that strengthen teenagers social skills with concentration in communication, responsibility, respect, and many others. The students I used it with thought that the activities were "fun" and worked when they needed the skills the most. I would recommend this book to all who work with teenagers.

Mr. Logsdon's book, although, "nice" and romantic as a read is flawed in it's premise that somehow, despite sky rocketing real estate costs for rural land, etc. that we can somehow go back to the land and earn a living. It seems that Mr. Logsdon's need to write to support himself and his wife belies the very notion he argues. Having tried, myself, to find land at a reasonable cost, having been launched a number of years ago by this author and others of the same bent, I found nothing but frustration and disappointment.

Mr. Logsdon would leave one to believe that all large scale farmers are without brains and that they choose to ignore the profits of small scale farming. Instead, I believe that Mr. Logsdon has closed his eyes to the hard realities that land values require large scale farming and that he fails to prove, other than in a romantic yearning only, that we can truly "Go Home Again". Truly, I wish it were so...unfortunately, unless you are Amish you cannot afford to.

The book leaves one with a warm feeling despite its flawed premise. The book could be shortened with less diabtribe about old villages or softball teams.

I bought the book still holding onto a waning desire to find "the way" to go home again myself only to realize that his book, likely unwittingly, provides many of the reasons why we can't go home again despite the desire to do so...and that is sad and unfortunate.

I *am* going home again. After nearly 20 years in Texas, my family is moving back to Ohio. We feel that call that Gene Logsdon describes so movingly, hilariously. Now, most people, considering the fact that we are doing it by going first and finding jobs later, think we are certifiable. How wonderful to read Gene's work and find encouragement in values that go beyond acquisition and comfort. We're college [over]educated and employable, and jobs are the least of our worries.

Gene's book talks about home, care, a sense of place. When a place where eleven generations have called home calls you back, you have to listen, and that's why we're going. We have a "10-year plan" -- we're lucky enough to be starting out on some acreage on my Dad's farm. And will build from there. My child and my brother's children will be able to cross the pasture to visit each other and their grandparents.

Will we be self-sufficient? Of course not. What does that mean anyway? People are too "self-sufficient" as it is. I want to live someplace where I can depend on people (in all the right senses of the word). We'll grow some vegetables and berries, raise some chickens and have a good time doing it. I dream grandiosely of a cow or maybe three goats (I want to name them Gina, Lola and Brigitta, but my husband is pushing for "Shot Clock I, II, & III" [he spends a lot of time statting basketball games!]) I pour over Lehman's catalogues. It's fun to plan.

I think that's where reviewer "trailboss" below misses Gene's point. I've read everything of Gene's that I can lay my hands on (too much is out of print! ), and one point he repeatedly emphasizes is that this is not about subsistence farming. There's more than "survival" to it or it wouldn't be worth last week's supermarket strawberries.

Gene never claims that you can find Total Peace, Contentment and Happiness and on a homestead. If you don't have some of that before you start, then disappointment is inevitable.

Going home is about place, people, and good dirt. That's the saving grace of it. Not making a "profit" on it, not becoming Organically Pure, or worshipping Gaia. Of course, you can do all those things, but the home and the dirt is the start of it.

And the softball. Former high school first-base ace here! Since we're moving to southern Richland County, Ohio, I hope we get to meet Gene and the boys in a softball tournament somewhere, sometime! In the meantime, Gene, keep pestering your publishers about reprints. :)

I just finished the book.

Reading the other reviews, one gets the feeling that they were reading different books. It reminds me of the Indian folktale of the four blind men and the elephant. Actually, I like the Persian version better: where three men encounter the elephant on a very dark night. The fourth man brings a candle. Ultimately, the Persian story is a story of redemption and salvation. And so is You Can Go Home.

This book is likely to cause discomfort to those have a very high need for order. Sometimes we (the Hecksel's) have guests on short notice. When that happens, we make the house suitable for company by taking all the clutter-of-life and pitching it into one of the bedrooms...the one with the lock, of course. Gene's book is a personal guided tour of that room. Great fun for those who love stories and antiques. Pain for those who crave a completely deterministic approach to life.

Gene is gutsy because he talks about religion. Gene is doubly gutsy for talking about money. Americans are funny people. We will tell total strangers of our sexual conquests before ordering our second drink, but not tell our CPA the true extent of our wealth & earnings. Go figure.

We are rich in proportion to what we do not need.

I received this book as a gift. It is a great reference to have when I am shopping for McCoy pottery and want to make sure I am not over paying. The detailed history of McCoy is also very interesting. My only complaint is that one page of descriptions was duplicated and as a result, it is missing accurate descriptions for one page or about 15 items.

This is a well organized reference to McCoy. It contains a history of McCoy; this added knowledge adds to the fun of collecting and allow you to sound more like you know what you are doing. Then there are pages on the different "marks" of the pottery. There is a value guide. But I find it easer to do my own comparing. The big plus is the color pictures that show what is available. For those discriminate people that do not just buy anything that says McCoy there is an index. It is also fun to see you McCoy pieces in the book.

I have a question about an entry in the 1997 Collectors Encyclopedia of McCoy Pottery concerning the soup tureen for the El Rancho Sombrero Serv-All. Does the price listed for the Sombrero include the Tureen or would they be priced separately? Judy

Enough nepotism here. This is a solid work in an area that has long attracted the interest of scholars of the colonial frontier. What really gives Hinderaker's work some novelty is the way he addresses economics in the imperial contest for the Ohio River Valley. The one glaring weakness of the work is the sparing use of French and Spanish primary uses, particularly those not readily available in English translation. Still a well-written work w/ some new insights.

Here is a book that colonial history lovers really need to add to their collection. A new perspective on early American history, with brilliant insight into the motivations of colonists and the consequential reactions of regional Native Americans. The book offers depth into the subject and makes for very interesting reading. And I am not even his sister! Highly recommended reading.

This book examines a little known subject at great detail. The author is obviously well subjected in the material. He offers new insight to a foggy chapter in our country's development. While it can be ponderous at times, the overall book is a jewel that will play an important role in your early American book collection. I strongly recommend it (and I am not even a relative!)

I just moved to the Cleveland area and read the book as a way to get to know the city. Very fun reading but not very detailed.

"Maniac in the Bushes" is brought to life with the inclusion of street addresses and references to existing landmarks. As native Clevelanders, my Dad and I have enjoyed discussing the cases on which the author focused, many of which my Dad remembers. If you live in Cleveland, you gotta read this!

What a new perspective this gives on my adopted city! I live near where the Collinwood School inferno happened (and pass its replacement nearly every day) and live in a neighbourhood where many of the older residents remember being told to 'watch out, or the Phantom of Kingsbury Run will chop you up' when they were kids. Fascinating subject, and I can't get enough!!! (Got me drinking Eliot Ness Lager, too, but I digress). Fast-paced and well-written, even if you've never been to Cleveland, you should check out this darker side of American history, North-Coast Style.

This novel, which I looked forward to reading, was somewhat of a disappointment. It's one of those novels in which a cloying MFA-driven writing style gets in the way of what could have been a riveting story. The novel follows too many of the precepts of what is expected in "quality" fiction: quirky characters, an intrusive and forced writing style (sentence fragments abound), and a general sense that most of the material in the novel was researched, not lived.

The novel seems more like a response to an assignment than a work of art. As a response to an assignment, it, of course, earns an "A." As a novel, it's a "B-."

The fact that Zafris is a Flannery O'Connot prize holder doesn't necessarily suggest there should be echoes of O'Connor in this work. That there are is part of the pleasure in reading it. The vivid portrayal of the underclass, the natural comedy and rhythm of their actions and dialogue, and the frank and touching insights into their thoughts are a confirmation of the writer's own inner life and savvy for understanding others. Forget he formulaic "name" novelists; give me more of Zafris.

Nancy Zafris' "The Metal Shredders" deconstructs the American family with the same thoroughness that a salvage-yard business picks apart an old LTD. These characters -- the Bonner family and the people who work for them -- are believable and sweet, and I cared deeply about them. Zafris, more than anyone else I've read, is good at showing the complexities of the male gender, its paranoias and fears and desires.

You can feel the wisdom of Dr. Logan. His experiences, through the narrator's interpretation, provides the listener's mind with an imagination of a time when entertainment was an important part of American culture.

Dr. Logan has brought to light what many people did not know about a mid-size city in Ohio named Dayton and the legends in music that have changed american culture.

This is the spoken word from the book with the same title. I liked the book, so of course, I enjoyed the CD set immensely.