Commemorating the centennial of the American picture post card, Richard Datin assembled almost fifty post cards for this 1992 anotated "snapshot" history of Reno.
The cover is from a 1906 view of Commercial Row by Newman Post Cards. The book includes a number of important early maps of Reno.

This 1984 book is a sponsored history. Notwithstanding the characteristics of that genre, this remains a fine history book, rich in detail and broad in coverage.
The book pays special attention to the post-Comstock period, Nevada's "twenty-year depression" (1880-1900). This is the key period of Reno's formation and marks its peculiar culture to this day.
The book has a separate section of color photographs, including a beautiful photograph of McKinley Park School.

Dwayne Kling spent a decade and a half reserching this Terrific, and oh-so thorough book. His dedication to accuracy is evident on every page. Buy it for the history, and you will be knocked-out by the photos! The city of Reno and its claim to fame as a gambling mecca never looked better.

I feel this was a very good book as it started with action, as most western books should to get the reader in the book. Than it jsut kept you in suspense guessing what was to come next. Never sure what was going to take place. Bill reno, is somewhat predictible in his books, but still I thought the read was worth the while, as it is a short book as his Badge series is all short books. If you like the to read the series I feel it is worth the read.

Surreal Song peals back the layers of time itself and peers into the crazy chaos of life in America in the 1970's in one of the most bizarre cities on Earth. The book has a lingering sadness which plucks at the soul while ripping irreverantly at the mocked up cardboard characters we zip ourselves into when we parade through life. Belly Button Blinkies - just the words drag forth a smile and demand one more turn of the page. If you like Kerouac or Burroughs, then this book is worthy of a read.

I found it engaging, captivating and at times painful to read. It is not for the faint of heart, but it is for those who understand that dragons lay hidden in the tall grass, with sharpened teeth and wise ancient eyes.

Marianne LeFae

You may now possess a book banned by the national noncensorship committee at the Library of Congress, through use of the national library database. Online Union Control, or alternately, Prism. As of July 1, 1996, "Defrauding America", by Rodney Stich, and my book departed the "subject" search heading, Judicial Corruption, as well as an entire search heading, Elections-Corrupt Practices, along with the title, Votescam, by Jim and Ken Collier, left the national literary database, WorldCat , used by libraries and book stores across the nation. And of course, you won't hear about our government using the L.o.C. computer database to politically censor our literature(NEWS) by reading our monopoly Advertpaper(s). This book involves what became the legalized alteration of public records(the cash cow for judges in the United States for the last 35 years), the federal witness "protection" program. The subpoenaed witness "disappeared", more providentially than the court's duty to enforce the subpoena and my witness's right to be free and to invoke his desire to testify, sans interference, concerning the indiscretions of a few judges.

After the subpoenaed witness was disappeared, so that he could not testify against the judge(John F. Corrigan), and after the Cleveland FBI cell explained to the author that interfering with a witness was not a crime, and after the Ohio eighth district appellate court with John F. Corrigan(in his only case as an appellate court judge and as the presiding appellate judge) was unable to see the error in the municipal court that had saved his worthless being, and after the author had gone to the state supreme court with his petition, and after his home had been violated in order to remove evidentiary materials damaging to the state and federal attorneys' general offices by the state Bureau of Criminal(!) "Investigation", per orders(verifiable by the venues police chief[no search warrant]) by Thomas J. Moyer(chief "justice" of the Ohio state supreme court), the author could sense there was some factor which was far more pervasive and ominous than just his own inability to obtain his enjoining of a hospital in a criminal prosecution, concerning their beating of a patient and starving to death of another victim in Marymount deathpital. The BCI searched the author's home and seized the original document, but they failed to anticipate the copies of the original, which appear in the book, "Up-Front Sleeper". If you find this difficult to believe, you're controlled by that entity which is supposed to divulge this stuff(information), our monopoly FREEcensoredPRESS.

When the author finally realized there was a pattern of general denial of his rights to judicial remedy, in effect protecting the Corrigan cabal, the idea developed to try to interest the federal superior court, through one of its justices(Souter), to hear a case where the state of Ohio's supreme court had denied a citizen his fifth, sixth, seventh, and later, his first and fourth amendment rights. The author published the book with the intent to deluge the federal supreme court, as well as other targets, with copies of the NEWSBOOK. Check out the Preface, in the book, to see how that attempt fared!

All public libraries, in the state of Ohio, were told, by their STATE liebrary board, to remove all copies of this book from their shelves, with the implied threat that any who did not comply would pay with their jobs. The state of the origin of votefraud, Florida, and Ohio are the only two states so blessed with such boards.

This true story is a demonstration of what is now occurring, when our Press)or our libraries) no longer perform the vital function of informing our electorate of the actions of a nefarious government, when our FREE PRESS is no longer numerous, competitive and responsive the needs of a self governing society. The seven major points illustrated and discussed by the book are as follow:

(1) The Attorneys' General windfall in altering public records-precursor to the now legal federal witness protection program. So now, the federal agents, in this conspiracy to enable judges to continue to take bribes, cannot be prosecuted. That was the only purpose for this act, to protect cooperative federal judges and clerks, not witnesses. State judges can continue to take bribes to disappear witnesses, even if the witnesses never testify. It's all so neat. BIG Money for the attorneys general. And you'll never know who the vast number of these witnesses are. The bar governs what the press can divulge, of course. If you don't believe me, try telling this news, as did the author;

+ our ever lovin' ex-Willie, how many of our federal supreme court "justices" are ex state attorneys general?

(2)Conflict of interest in our Congresses-the Bar's member legislators and why they misrepresent the vast majority by serving-guess whom(?), in our law creating legislatures;

(3)Our corrupted judicial network, who now invoke injustice as "business as usual";

(4)The Justice department's anti-trust division's allowance of our First amendment right to a free, competitive P4ress-our most crucial right- to expire. Time may be past to resurrect our ability to be an informed electorate. Online Computer Library Center, located in the heart of it all, Dublin, Ohio, with 98%(1996 claim) of public libraries and book stores subscribing, is currently censoring(restricting) their computer display of our Libraries' holdings, as a further assault on the First. Access, in effect, denied;

(5)Blatant(only when publicized) obstruction of the process of justice by the "investigatory staff" of Justice, the Federal Bureau of "Investigation", patterned after the Russian czarist secret police, the Checka, in 1909, by Theodore Roosevelt, and by the adjunct to our state's attorney's general office, the Bureau of Criminal "Investigation" (more accurately, the CBI);

(6)Civil rights vs. Government sanctioned psychiatric abuse; and,

(7)Ohio's fraudulent state medical licensing board-self regulation parodied-your safety compromised on a grand scale, with the complicity of our oligarchic,
nondemocratic government.
Global censorship is a logical progression in the scheme of information control.

Late to first year orientation, Jack Gray runs into Earls boarding school just in time to be assigned to the smallest room, a converted storage closet. He and his roommate, Simon Bentley, soon make friends with Dean Leonard, a boy with bottle-thick glasses and James Bond, not the spy, but a victim of parental humor. The four friends suffer the expected first year trials, bad food, boring teachers, and bullying second year students. During a restless, homesick night, Jack hears voices coming from behind Simon's dresser and discovers a portal to another dimension and another school, the Human Race Studies Academy, or HURASTAC.

Beings of all kinds, including Martians, ghosts, vampires and angels, study mankind at HURASTAC. Jack makes friends with students from the academy and with the help of a budding witch, the four Earls students explore HURASTAC's dimly lit halls. It's a wonderful adventure until a vampire slips though the portal into the human world. Unless the friends, both human and otherwise, act quickly, even the strongest magic won't be able to stop him.

THE SECRET PORTAL reminded me of the Harry Potter series. The setting bounces between the mundane world (Earls) and a magic world full of amazing people and creatures (HURASTAC). Though the events are fantastic, the
relationships ring true. THE SECRET PORTAL confronts issues important to real children, making friends, resisting bullies, and circumventing authority. Finally, like Harry Potter's J.K. Rowling, the author, Reno
Charlton, uses humor as well as imagination to captivate young readers.

I enjoyed the characters in THE SECRET PORTAL. The human students are realistic and sympathetic. I particularly liked Dean, the bullies' primary victim. The otherworldly students are a lot of fun. Jeebies, a wacky gnome, adding a great comic touch, while Gladstone Gore, is not only a vampire, but every kid's worst nightmare of a teacher.

Reviewed by Carrie Masek

Great fun! Very highly recommended

Jack Gray and Simon Bentley quickly become friends when they both arrived at Earls Boarding School a bit late, calling unwanted attention to themselves. They also share the dubious honor of being assigned the smallest room in the boarding school - room 13 had previously been a storage closet, which might explain why no one had ever noticed the room's unusual qualities. Behind the chest of drawers lies a secret portal to another school.

The students in the fifth dimension are bit unusual, as Jack and Simon soon discover. Some live on other planets, are vampires or witches, and some are not even alive! But when a dangerous vampire discovers the open portal, he plans to use it for his own diabolical purposes. Now it is up to Jack, Simon and their new friends to thwart the evil plan.

Readers who enjoy the magic of the Harry Potter series will discover a new set of unusual friends with magical abilities and unexpected happenings in THE SECRET PORTAL. Invisibility potions, shape shifting, and magic spells gone awry do not even begin to describe this fabulous read. Readers will chill the overcoming of bullies, the antics in the classroom, and the humor that binds this unusual cast of characters. In addition, Author Reno Charlton writes with a clear, concise, and light-hearted style that makes for delightful reading. This marvelously entertaining tale will delight young readers and the young at heart. With wonderful illustrations and a fast paced story line certain to entertain, leaving readers hoping there will be many sequels. THE SECRET PORTAL comes very highly recommended.

Cindy Penn
Senior Editor, Amazon top 50 Reviewer
eBook Specialist, Midwest Book Review

Jack Gray and Simon Bentley quickly become friends when they both arrived at Earls Boarding School a bit late, calling unwanted attention to themselves. They also share the dubious honor of being assigned the smallest room in the boarding school - room 13 had previously been a storage closet, which might explain why no one had ever noticed the room's unusual qualities. Behind the chest of drawers lies a secret portal to another school.

The students in the fifth dimension are bit unusual, as Jack and Simon soon discover. Some live on other plants, are vampires or witches, and some are not even alive! But when a dangerous vampire discovers the open portal, he plans to use it for his own diabolical purposes. Now it will up to Jack, Simon and their new friends to thwart the evil plan.

Readers who enjoy the magic of the Harry Potter series will discover a new set of unusual friends with magical abilities and unexpected happenings in THE SECRET PORTAL. Invisibility potions, shape shifting, and magic spells gone awry do not even begin to describe this fabulous read. Readers will chill the overcoming of bullies, the antics in the classroom, and the humor that binds this unusual cast of characters. In addition, Author Reno Charlton writes with a clear, concise, and light-hearted style that makes for delightful reading. This marvelously entertaining tale will delight young readers and the young at heart. With wonderful illustrations and a fast paced story line certain to entertain, leaving readers hoping their will be many sequels. THE SECRET PORTAL comes very highly recommended.

The descriptions of various Vegas locations in this book are detailed and accurate, and easy to read. The book includes tips on getting the best airfare, hotel, and ticket rates, as well as attention-grabbing descriptions of what you can find and where. Ratings from one to six stars are included for every hotel, casino, and restaurant, as well as periodic "blurb boxes" of worthy and humorous side notes about Las Vegas. This book makes an excellent start for the first time Sin City visitor, or for those who have been before but might have missed something and want to know where to find it. The maps are also easy to follow and quite helpful.

So why do I give this book only 4 out of 5 stars? Because there are pieces of it that mislead the buyer. The book is NOT "filled with hundreds of dollars of money-saving coupons" as the photo says. There are a FEW coupons in the back of the book, but they make absolutely no sense for this guide. For instance, there are coupons for Universal Studios and for Knotts Berry Farm, both of which are located in Los Angeles. Now why the heck anyone would put L.A. coupons in a Las Vegas/Reno/Tahoe guide, I have yet to figure out. The single ACTUAL Las Vegas coupon in this book is for a Mini Grand Prix fun center that is located nowhere near either the Strip or the Downtown area...most visitors will not even see the place, and I've not seen this Grand Prix advertised anywhere else but this book. And there are NO Reno, Laughlin, or Tahoe coupons in the book.

And even if you DID manage to use the all of six or seven coupons included in the book, you wouldn't even save $200.

What else misleads the reader? Well, be careful...there is a great (and perhaps valid) point the author makes about always asking hotels for their BEST rate. He then tells how he called a hotel and got a quote of $149 for the room. After an initial "Ouch" response, the agent lowered the price to $109 due to a promotion. He then asked for the BEST rate...$79. But then he's a member of AAA...ok now he only has to pay $72. Great story...the catch? It didn't happen at a Vegas hotel...the hotel in question was in Chicago. Now, I'd think that if you're going to buy a Vegas guide, you want VEGAS stories, not Chicago ones. But so much of the book is about Vegas, that you tend to ignore little details like that if you don't read the stories carefully. And that is not the only story in the book where you will find little fallacies like that.

So be SURE when you read the tips and tricks, that you take them with a grain of salt. But if you're already IN vegas or know where you will stay and just want to choose activities or eateries, you probably won't find any guide much better.

THIS BOOK IS AN EXCELLENT TRAVEL COMPANION. WE USED THE MAPS INSIDE FOR DRIVING DIRECTIONS. THEY ARE ALL VERY EASY TO READ AND FOLLOW. IT ALSO HAS A GOOD LISTING OF SIGHTS TO SEE AND THINGS TO DO. I REALLY LIKE IT BECAUSE IT IS NOT BORING TO JUST SIT AND READ. IT GIVES YOU BRIEF HISTORY ON AREAS AND UPDATES ANY CHANGES THAT HAVE OCCURED IN THE LAST YEAR. I LOOK FORWARD TO MY NEXT VACATION AND JUST HOPE THAT WHEREVER I PLAN TO GO THERE IS AND ECONOGUIDE FOR IT.

I have a family, work part-time, do charity work, try to squeeze in a few minutes for my wonderful friends.

I don't have spare time aplenty. I thought this book would be helpful, but it wasn't.

The ideas recommended were common sense, and worse the writing was wordy, dry and not at all engaging.

I realize this book is nonfiction, but even nonfiction should offer interesting language, and words, and delightful anecdotes.

This book had none of that.

In my opinion this tome should have been called THE UNOFFICIAL GUIDE TO WASTING TIME.

As a student I have found this to be an exelant plan for saving valable time.

As a literture Student and Poetry Author. writing the for school on line magizine, as well as independent poetry contest. Working on several projects at the same time for my world novels class and creative writing class. Keeping a part time job and trying to have a home life is very hard when your at school four days a week from 8 am. to 9pm. This book has showed how I can organize my time better, and how to judge which things come first. I've had to ask myself a hard question, just how bad do I want to reach my goals. And was I willing to make some sacifices in my life to reach this goal. Once I had answered these questions the decision was easy. But if one is not serious about what ever their trying to do, if that person is not willing to make the sacefices to obtain it. Then they really dont want it nor need it or really care if they can save time and make their life a litle bit eaiser. This Author should be praised, and I hope she writes more on the subject.

I bought this book about the famous inquiry of Major Reno who was accused of cowardice at the battle of Little Bighorn. It was fine. However, anybody who would be interested in this book might as well go all the way and get Ron Nichols' version of the Inquiry. That's why I gave the Graham abstract a 4. Nichols has taken the unpublished manuscript (from the National Archives?) and copied it down word-for-word so you get the whole enchilada, not Graham's edited version. I couldn't find Nichols book on Amazon.com but it's out there somewhere. I got my copy from the Custer Battlefield Historical and Museum Association. Perhaps someone at Amazon.com will read this review and make Mr. Nichols' heftier compilation available.

This book belongs on the shelf of all students of the LBH battle. The trouble is that the testimony is such a tease. The tough questions were not asked, or not allowed to be asked. Larry Sklenar in "To Hell with Honor" in essence called the whole inquiry a sham, that Lieutenant George Wallace committed perjury to cover for Reno, and the other survivors who testified were just interested in putting it all behind them, or protecting the Army from a military-phobic Congress. I agree that it is an interesting read, but reading it is like a hungry man looking at a chocolate cake but not being allowed a bite.

A surprisingly good read. W. A. Graham's well edited book of testimony is fascinating. The inquiry report was supressed for many years until Graham came along. The Reno and Benteen passages are quite revealing of the men themselves. Reno reveals what he really thinks of Custer and Benteen's sarcasm concerning Custer's order for him on that day is so apparent one wishes he was challenged more on the stand. Benteen's reasons for his delay are quite astonishing. Those well familiar with the LBH will appreciate some of the between the lines testimony of the officers. Varnum (chief of scouts) and civilians describe the retreat from the valley as a rout and but the other officers are reluctant to critizise. Graham's editing and Pohanka's introduction enrich the book by providing more background information.