This book makes a wonderful gift for anyone! You'd wish you got one for yourself too!

This book is soooo awesome! it was so cool to see what the old garfield comics looked like! I recomend this book for any garfield fan! Soooo AWESOME!!!

This is a great book. I love Garfield, and I am huge fan. This book is great because you get to see Garfield cartoons from his early years to now. It's fun seeing how his (as well as the other characters) have transformed in image... but not in attitude! I never knew how popular Garfield was around the world. You learn a lot of history about Garfield from this book, and it's all very interesting and fun to learn about. Garfield will always be hilarious, I think he's even better thean Snoopy! It has a great little section with funny Garfield items from A to Z. I loved it because I have the massager. This is a great book for all Garfield fans! You'll love it! I hope Garfield makes it another 25 exciting years! Enjoy!!!!!!!!!!

John H. Davis doesn't leave a stone unturned, at least as far as Carlos Marcello's complicity in the assassination. If, after reading this book, you don't think Marcello played a part in this crime, ... This book puts you right into the world of Carlos Marcello, almost as though you were experiencing it with your own eyes. Also impressive was Davis' insight into the wacky world of the U.S. Government. In the years since this book was first published, it has been even further established from numerous informants that the actual shooters were three Corsican underworld hitmen from Marseille: Lucien Sarti, Francois Chiappe, and Jean-Paul Angeletti. ...

Cross referencing info in this book would make it possible to catch the real killers, it's just that accurate. You never want to put this one down!Even after you finish, you'll read it again. I read it all the time. And everytime I do I come across another important fact. This book would help the government find the killers, if in fact the government WANTED to find them.

I know most of the New Orleans players...Davis is very accurate in his text. If you never had the shrimp at Mosca's, or spent "Ladies Night" at Lenfant's, you would notz understand. "Who killa da chief?"

I just bought this book for a friend's child, but I fell in love with it first. It is a delightful story, with absolutely wonderful illustrations. I think I'll have to get a copy for myself now!

This is a wonderful story with beautiful illustrations. A great book for children!

This is one of my five year old son's favorite books. We read every night before going to bed. So, we read lots of books. This one always stays at the top of the stack. The illustrations are magical and make the story come alive.

Even if you are an "occasional" cook, this book is fantastic! Most potato salads could be a meal. The information in the chapter called "The Basics" is invaluable for creating superb potato salad. After trying eight recipes, Barbara Lauterbach's "Potato Salad" will be a mainstay in my kitchen.

The title "Potato Salad" on the cover of this cook book intrigued me. I couldn't think of many variations of such an old fashioned dish. To me just omitting eggs or mustard , selecting salad dressing in preference to mayonnaise is about the extent of my repertoire .

I bought the book because potato salad is just about my favorite food. The variety of potato salad recipes is very surprising. Being a lover of fish I was amazed at the many kinds of fish that blend deliciously with potatoes in a salad.

Barbara has not only found tasty potato salad recipes from all over the world, she has made them simple to follow and noted substitutes where you may need them.

This is a great cook book made simple and will certainly be on my gift list.

Having purchased this book hot off the press and cooking two of the recipes for Mother's Day, I have to say, this is a keepa! Brilliant idea to create a compilation of recipes focusing on one food. There's a spud recipe here for every kind of meal you could possibly imagine, from the very simple to the extraordinarily elegant. A must for every kitchen!

Powerful, unsettling, funny, sad, thought provoking. I want to read more of her writing.

Rat Medicine was a book that I read, reread, and keep on hand to read again. It is amazing that the author has so many voices, so many stories, and it becomes difficult to decide which one you prefer...the young and fragile eight-year-old girl, the seemingly self-assured woman nipping sips from the liquor cabinet, the Irish mute in a land of magic, and so many others. Davis' stories are moving, witty, funny, insightful, and written with such wonderful detail that your imagination travels to numerous places and into the vast array of characters' minds. A wonderful gift for yourself or someone else, I thoroughly enjoyed and continue to enjoy her work.

Review Lauren Davis' Rat Medicine & Other Unlikely Curatives is an astounding collection of twenty stories that slowly work upon the mind and the imagination of the reader. Timothy Findley is right in saying, "Here lies buried treasure." These stories deserve to be read and still more they deserve to be reread. That's where the treasure is, where the rat medecine starts to work, where the spirits "draw golden circles." From the first story, Rat Medecine, where Nell sees rats sitting on the windowsill, inside the refrigerator, to the last story, The Golden Benefactors, where Brewster sees spirits hovering around their living kin like grand moths, the author is the alchemist, burning through the dregs of human nature to sift out the nuggets of gold. Nell will turn the tables on her booze-ridden husband, Brewster will share his secret with little Liam. The prose mesmerizes, the reader enters the underworld, following Ms.Davis' characters as they lose themselves in alcohol, drugs, sex, and violence - heads exploding in starbursts of yellow and red lights. The stories hurt, the bleakness is invasive. But scattered throughout the collection there are indeed starbursts of light, the stray twin sister Janet is sheltered and loved, the crazed poet Roddy finds friends in the subway tunnels, and the remarkable Millicent Argyle dances. Ms. Davis' writing is spare, well paced, and insightful, with vivid description and dialogue that jolts the reader with its exactitude. The characters, whether male or female, young or old, walk right into the readers memory. The points of view, be they told in first person or in third, are equally strong. And there is one exceptional story written in second person, Yours Truly. From the first sentence, "You walk out the door and down the stairs, with your suitcase baning on the wooden steps and his voice clanging in your head. . .", the reader is prisoner of the story, entering into the very skin of the narrator. Davis' mastery is relentless. There is not way out, but through the darkness.

Since becoming interested in the 19th Century, and the oasis of information concerning that time period, I'm still baffled as to why the 21st Century historian cannot understand the greatness of men like Jefferson Davis. All the modern historian can do is point out cultural problems of times past (slavery: as if the South was the only place on earth that had them). After reading the standard review from Amazon, I had to chime in on this great book. I've read William J. Cooper's Jefferson Davis as well as Jefferson Davis himself. Is it not interesting that modern day Jefferson Davis antagonists' (Just read James Mcpherson's preface in 'The Rise and Fall of the Confederate Government") can only talk of slavery, as if this is the only motivating factor which drove J. Davis to become a relunctant secessionist, while ignoring our own cultural problems that are far worse and grandiose in scope. Modern day/ post-modern historians cannot grasp the larger picture of history. Their worldview does not allow for such truth gazing. F. Allen does a supurb job of showing us a Davis who was triumphant, depressed,ultimately defeated, caring for Negros, and a dedicated Episcopalian who knew who his Saviour was. Many of J. Davis' associates supported gradual emancipation (Bishop Meade of Va and Bishop Leonidas Polk) as to help assimulate the Negro into society. The Northern invasion of the South precluded any such cultural assimilation to take place. Read this book- It is partisan, but isn't every historian coming to work the task of history with his/her presuppositions? F. Allen is not ashamed of this and her logical conclusions about the man and his times is as accurate as a historian can get. Cheers for independent scholars who have not abdicated the task of passing story to fellow countrymen!

What Mrs. Allen succeeds so brilliantly at is showing the human side of the man. I must admit that I was no fan of Jefferson Davis in his role as the President of the CSA. However, thanks to Mrs. Allen, I was able to see him in a much different light - as an American patriot and a human being. In the passions that colour anything dealing with the War of Northern Aggression, it is sometimes difficult to remember that everyone involved had a life before that tragic conflict. I can't help but be grateful for the way in which Mrs. Allen brought that point home in her book. While I will still take issue with many of his wartime decisions, I can't help but be proud that our nation produced a man like Jefferson Davis. Thanks for the insight and the education Mrs. Allen!

This book inspite of some reviews is informative and to my mind inspirational. It is however, NOT for the so-called politically correct unless they are seriously considering jettsoning their neo-Stalinist approach to learning. It is a delight for those who appreciate the man and his country for what they really stood for.

Dixie!

Even while Ed Wood was scraping to get together the resources necessary to make his infamous films (and earning an underserved reputation as the worst director of all time), he was also making side money by writing literally hundreds of pulp and "adult" novels. Killer in Drag, considered to be his signature novel, was written when Wood was on the verge of sinking into his final alcoholic decline. It deals with Wood's favorite theme -- a strong, heterosexual man who enjoys dressing up as a woman. In this case, Glen is also Glenda. Hoping to raise the money for a sex change operation, Glen works as a contract killer for "the syndicate." However, in one of the less convuluted plot twists of the book, Glen is then unjustly accused of the one murder he didn't commit. Glen is forced to go on the run. Ending up in a backwater town, Glen also ends up purchasing a used carnival and finding himself the prey of two corrupt cops. Even as Glen struggles to keep Glenda from taking over his own personality, he finds time to pursue a romance with an understanding prostitute and to bond with an alcoholic drag queen. This is the type of plot that only Ed Wood could come up with and if you're a fan of the man's films, you'll find a lot to enjoy in this book. Is the book trash? You bet. Is it even a good book? Um...no, not really. But it is a lot of fun for Wood devotees who, by this point, should know what to expect.

It should also be pointed out that this book proves that, even if he wasn't talented, Ed Wood still doesn't deserve to be known as the worst director or writer ever to work in Hollywood. While the dialouge in this book (and his films) is often flat and full of terrible jokes, is it really any worse than that to be found in Titanic or Star Wars: Episode 1 or the collected works of Bret Easton Ellis? What comes through, most sadly, in this book is a sense of overwhelming sincerity. No matter how ludicrous the plot, its obvious that Wood is attempting to tell a touching story that, underneath the pulp stylings, contains a plea for tolerance for men (like Wood himself) who enjoyed wearing women's clothing. There's a niave quality to the book's attempt to be hard-bioled pulp that is almost child-like and, in a way, almost endearing. And, unlike several other writers, Wood actually does manage to pull off one compelling chapter in which the drag queen Shrilee opens up to Glen about his tragic past and the persecution he's suffered as a result of his preference. Its a short chapter but well written and for a few pages, Wood is obviously writing from his soul. No, it doesn't mean that Wood was actually a brilliant talent waiting to be discovered. But it does show that Wood did possess an actual sensitivity and compassion for his subjects -- no matter how ludicrous a plot he may have constructed to showcase that sensitivity. It also shows that Wood, no matter how untalented a dreamer he may have been, deserves more than to be simply laughed off as "the worst writer/director of all time."

The most amazing thing about "Killer in Drag" is that it plays out more-or-less exactly like one of EDW2's movies. The action moves from point-to-point without logic or consistency, and when it all ends rather abruptly, you're not sure what, if anything, you've just witnessed. He probably could've made big bucks turning out Hollywood blockbusters in the '90s.

Glenda is an assassin for "The Syndicate". The Syndicate is apparently an equal-opportunity employer, with a quota for exactly one transvestite (TV) assassin, as she is later stalked by her (much inferior) replacement.

Anyway, Glenda's trying to get out of The Syndicate (which no one ever does, of course) by--get this--having a sex-change operation. In other words, Glen, whose specialty is portraying a woman very convincingly, is going to hide from his criminal employers by actually becoming a woman.

In a shocking and completely unexplained twist, Glen is spared from the homosexual prostituting he needs to get the money for the sex change by murder of his would-be patron. So he goes on the lam, stopping every few miles to change clothes.

He finally decides to hide from the law by--yes, you guessed it--buying a carnival. (If you actually did guess that, you may have a lucrative career in writing ahead of you.)

In other words, this book is chock full of the surreal antics and idiomatic use of language that marks EDW2's film work. It probably didn't take much longer to write than it does to read and at this point '65, he was well on his way to alcohol-induced dementia. (I would guess the bulk of the book is descriptions about people drinking, mixing drinks, wanting a drink, etc.) The tell-tale sign is in the delirious description of his alter ego "Shirlee", described unpleasantly as an ugly old drunken TV.

"Shirlee" only adds a certain poignancy to the whole proceedings, with its raw energy and its echos and shadows of talent. The author went off the rails somewhere in life, and there's a real tragedy in not having him around to reflect on it all. Of course, that's long spilt milk, and it must be admitted that the man left an enduring legacy.

A must-read for Ed Wood afficianados.

Fairies and dragons and witches and gnomes aren't real, but they bore the phlegm out of me. High-heeled, cross-dressing hit men aren't real either, but they fascinate me, especially when delivered with the earnestness and raw sensibilities of an over-indulgent Ed Wood Jr.


This book has it all. Murder, mayhem, and endless wardrobe minutiae. More intelligible than its sequel, Death of a Transvestite, Killer in Drag puts the P back into pulp. And puts it back into pumps, too.

Verna Davis was my friend when my family lived in Ten Sleep. She played piano at our Methodist Church and often accompanied our choir. Her autobiography was fascinating. What a life she has led! She is a strong, imaginative, cultured and independent woman who helped shape the West into the special place it is today.

Verna Davis' Trails in the Big Horn Mtns. were many. Particularly interesting as I now own the land where the gold mine cabin still rests, though the roof has fallen in. Her book answered many questions I always had about this mine, except for the amout of gold found! As a native of the TenSleep area, it was fun to read about people I know and the familiar landscapes that she so elequently describes. I'm glad she is back in Buffalo, opting over Texas winters! I hope she is still alive so she can know how much I enjoyed her book.

Verna Davis tells of her life experiences, growing up in Wyoming. All too often, we take for granted many of modern day life's simple conveniences. Knowing that the automobile was invented at the turn of the twentieth century, it is easy to assume that it's use and popularity quickly spread across the country, when in fact it did not become a popular mode of transportation in northern Wyoming for some forty years. Mrs. Davis' account adds the next chapter to Johnson County, Wyoming's colorful history.

She's at it again! Magnificent, and sometimes mysterious, Maggie Keane tries to live a normal life. All she wants to do is build a reputation as a respectable and talented artist, while cuddling up in her favorite sweatshirt with the love of her life. Never mind that the sweatshirt has seen better days and that she is completely blind to her feelings for Sam. She's just going about her business the best way she knows how and wham! A dead body appears in the middle of it.

Well, this is, unfortunately, normal for Maggie, as those of you who have read 'A Dying Art' already know. And as Sam tries to keep her out of danger, Maggie only manages to make matters worse for her man and herself, finding herself in situations that are alternately hilarious and terrifying. Ms. Davis has created a delightful central character who will amuse you and frustrate you, but definitely keep you turning the pages!

An Opening for Murder is the second Maggie Kean mystery and returns the character of the spunky artist/sleuth to new audiences. Here Maggie's involvement with a homicide detective brings new romance, while her professional life is enhanced by a showing of her art - until a body is discovered at the opening, burned in the studio's kiln. Suddenly Maggie's back in the middle of a murder mystery in this compelling mystery.

From the very beginning I was drawn into Maggie's life with such a force that I felt I had just made a new friend!! Nageeba Davis is a master of description, creating characters who have ups and downs, real emotional baggage, and the "sometimes craziness" that we all experience in being human. This mystery has a truly clever plot that takes quick, intriguing turns combined with fascinating sub plots that are beautifully woven into the plot.
Maggie and her Italian boyfriend Sam Villari often vascillate between love/passion and anger/trust issues as the book develops into a "can't put it down" murder investigation that would just happen to occur during Maggie's first showing of sculpture. Maggie's friends Lisa, Mark and Jamie, brother Andy, and the old red jeep that is totally undependable, add to the excitement. When old Hank Duran enters the scene, the book becomes a perfect blend of amusement and charm all the while growing in intensity over who actually DID commit this murder.
Both "An Opening for Murder" and "A Dying Art" demonstrate what incredible talent Nageeba Davis has for depth of character development, unfolding of a complicated plot, and certainly for humor. This book is extremely entertaining, really "has it all" and should not be missed. I cannot wait for the next book in the series to come out, a feeling shared by all the other people I know who have read "An Opening For Murder."

What a delightful story. Well thought out, deep characters, an intricate plot and all around enjoyable read. I have a partiality for time travel stories, so this book caught my attention from the first time I picked it off of the shelf. Cara and Michael's story twists and turns, bending back on itself to make for a complete and satisfying reading experience.

One of the biggest potential problems for a time travel story is the element of the travel itself and how the protagonists react to the event. Usually you have either the hero or heroine thrown back/forward in time and the other party has to deal with understanding this anomaly. Ms. Dee avoids this trap nicely. The time travel is integral to the plot, and not just because it throws the lovers together. I suppose fans of time travel and the ultimate paradox of changing history will be leery of this story, since our hero and heroine make no excuses for trying to change the past. Thoughts of how this will change the future are not even addressed, and to me, makes for the weakest link in the story. (You know, the problem that arises when something does not happen, then how could such and such have happened, and ultimately, how could you have been born to come back to the past?)

Loralee, Patrick, Arlee, Ginny, Pete, (even Jack the horse), and all of the other secondary characters are depicted beautifully and add much to the story. I think my biggest reservation with this book is that there is so much depth and complexity to it, that at times it feels like the reader is skimming over some important facts. Some readers might get uncomfortable with the style the book was written, with concurrent threads, switching from one scene to another, all happening at the same "time". Personally, I thought it was well done and was comfortable with it. I would not (and do not) hesitate recommending this book as a good, solid read.

Cara and Michael first come together when she is 16 and he is 19. In the 20th century Cara has just turned 16 and was given a family heirloom, a pendant, for her birthday. This pendant has been passed down through her family since the late 1800's. On their way home, her and her parents get in a car accident and she is thrown from the car and transported back in time.

When Michael comes across Cara, he believes she is a small injured animal. When he notices that she is a young girl, he takes her into the mine to protect her from the storm. The next morning when Cara wakes up in The Promise she is back in her time, having no idea that she was transported at all. Over the years she is convinced by her grandfather and all her doctors that Michael was just a figment of her imagination.

Throughout the nine years, they never forgot each other and fate brought them together again. In most time travel romances that I've read, the heroine goes back through time and has to adapt to the past. I really enjoyed how Michael came foward and I couldn't stop laughing when he made Cara Fruit Loops for breakfast.

The love between the two was intense that even the boundries of time couldn't destroy. Davis does a great job portraying to the reader the intensity of their feelings for eachother.

If you enjoyed this book, I would recommend 'Everything In It's Time', also by Davis. I believe it is out of print, but you may be able to find it at a used book store.

Cara Reynolds' sixteenth birthday is perfect with a new foal, dinner at the Bristol with her parents, and the gift of beautiful silver heart shaped necklace. Then tragedy strikes in the form of car accident, killing her parents. A stranger finds Cara in the blizzard and seeks shelter for them in an abandoned mine tunnel. Michael Macpherson promises to take care of her, but in the morning, he's gone. Over time, doctors and her grandfather persuade Cara that her savior doesn't exist; that he is a way for her mind to deal with the tragic death of her parents. An artist, Cara tries repeatedly to recapture her memories of the mine tunnel called the Promise, not realizing that his promise ties her to Michael, binding their hearts and futures irretrievably.

Nine years later Cara realizes that time shifted that night, allowing two timelines to cross when a wounded Michael appears in her own time. She is from the present; he's from more than a hundred years ago. Someone tried to kill Michael and he knows neither who nor why. He immediately recognizes the subject of one of Cara's paintings, however. And he recognizes the unspoken promise of the two lovers in the mine's entrance. Later, an admirer named Nick insists that Cara sell her paintings of the Promise silver mine to him, but she refuses. When she and Michael return to her studio for a last minute chore before the paintings ship to a gallery in New York, a fire breaks out nearly killing Cara. Struck by the strange coincidences of the evening, Cara and Michael investigate Nick's house. There they find her paintings, and a very old news account of Michael's disappearance and his father's death. His brother Patrick will die as well, if they can't return to the past to save him.

Dee Davis pens an intriguing romance in THE PROMISE. At the heart of Cara and Michael's story lays the Promise, the silver mine that brought the Macphersons the promise of wealth and tragedy. Further, promises made and promises kept bind the hearts of Cara and Michael as they cross timelines. Mystery and love weave a mesmerizing account that culminates in terrific finale. The secondary plotline likewise binds hearts and promises, as the working girl Loralee and Michael's brother Patrick discover love in the midst of danger. Loralee is an especially sympathetic and appealing character guaranteed to capture reader's hearts. Furthermore, THE PROMISE is engaging enough that it is a good choice for romance readers even for those who often avoid time-travel stories. Very highly recommended.