One section of the book is fortunately out of date. A special section highlights the row houses on Julia Street in the Warehouse District, then in sad disrepair, but now gems in that area's redevelopment.

Despite the towering skyscrapers lining Poydras Street and the gleaming hotel towers down by the river, this book calls our attention to what remains: the exuberant architectural display of a Victorian bank building or the shockingly vibrant facade of a Canal Street storefront. Through its thoughtful scholarship and careful display of maps, historic images and contemporary photograph, this book (likes its sisters in the series) is an inviting glimpse into the past for the careful reader.

In 1821 England, the Earl of Montegut, Lord Grayling Dunstan, has just traveled to America in search of a William Marshall, who purchased a quilt that the English aristocrat wants. The quilt is no ordinary cover because it is a Montegut heirloom that allegedly contains a map where his ancestors buried a treasure. Grayling realizes that the quilt, long shot that it might be, is his only hope to pay off the debts of his father.

In Natchez-Under-the-Hill, Louisiana, Grayling meets William's niece, who actually possesses the quilt. He asks for her uncle and the quilt. Thinking she is protecting her relative, she refuses to respond to his inquiry. However, before he can follow up, someone steals the quilt. The twosome pursues the thief even as they learn the true treasure is inside their hearts.

PATTERNS OF LOVE is a magical historical romance that will entice fans of cross-Atlantic tales. The story line is exciting and adds much to the "Quilting Romance" series. The crisp characterizations and the accompanying dialogue allow readers to distinguish between the players from different sides of the ocean. This individualism will leave sub-genre fans beholden to Christine Holden for a wonderful story.

Harriet Klausner

You've found it -- I (15 yrs. old @ the time of this writing) enjoyed "CATCHER" on my own, and, interested, bought this essay collection. I wasn't bored by it, either, so you're most likely to have an easy time getting through this.

The title of the book is pretty self-explanatory, so I'll give you some of the HIGHLIGHTS (best essays):

"Catcher" is Weak and Fails to Explore its Themes; Parts of J.D. Salinger's life that can be found in "Catcher"; Holden's Language [this essay is pretty much a PSYCHOLOGICAL PROFILE on Holden]; and: An ATTACK on "Catcher in the Rye."

So the book is pretty goddam good and all, I mean it really is. I got a real bang out of it and all. I nearly broke my goddam neck, if you want to know the truth.

I checked this book out of the library years ago. Since then, someone has stolen the library's copy. I have been looking for a copy for years. If you find a copy, I strongly urge you to buy it.

The book recounts, through many personal stories how the whole notion of mental suffering was often regarded as a form of cowardice, with many innocents suffering the ultimate punishment/shame, purely due to a lack of understanding of the mental and physical stress that war can cause, whilst authorities seemed incapable of showing compassion for fear of inducing a revolt in their own forces.

Distressingly, the author recounts how doctors working for the military were ordered to work with the sole intention of getting their patients well enough to be able to send them back to the frontline, where all the original triggers of shell shock awaited.

Incidents are reported of soldiers, who would have no reason to suffer mental illness in everday life, displaying the most bizarre symptoms after being exposed to the continuous horrors of war.

Holden goes on to detail how the understanding of Shell Shock evolved during the World Wars largely due to the perserverance and hard work of a number of doctors who often experimented with nothing more than trial and error methods.

It goes on to explain how further conflicts in the 20th Century, ncluding Vietnam and the Gulf War have to some extent allowed the understanding of the stresses of war to become almost scientifically identified, to the point where it's now generally understood what sorts of conditions and how many hours of combat the average human can take in war.

First, unlike other books that teach spreadsheet modeling, the spreadsheets that come on the CD ROM are not finished products. Instead the author has chosen spreadsheets that use dynamic charts to illustrate concepts in an interactive manner (drag a control to change the parameters and the chart changes - this is a powerful teaching tool in or out of the classroom).

Second, the book needs to be read in sequence because spreadsheets you build in one chapter are the basis for refinements and added complexity in later chapters. This leads to highly complex spreadsheets, such as the model in chapter 16 (Life-Cycle Financial Planning), which incorporates tax parameters (federal and state levels), benefits analysis and other factors.

In all there are 53 spreadsheets presented in this book, and you build them. The author calls this "active learning" (as opposed to passive learning where you are provided templates), and it is effective because you are the one who builds the models and tools while following the book. Note that this book does NOT purport to teach Excel programming, but how to build models using Excel's basic features and functions.

As a consultant and project manager the parts of this book that were immediately useful to me were: Parts I (Time Value of Money), III (Capital Budgeting) and IV (Financial Planning). In particular, project management requires a thorough understanding of time value of money and capital budgeting, and the chapters in these sections should be read by anyone who is assigned as a project manager. Financial planning, especially from the perspective of IT asset management, is another knowledge area in which IT consultants should be well versed.

The other parts of the book (II Valuation and V Options and Corporate Finance) will be more useful to finance professionals and general business managers. There is a collection of supporting material on the author's web site that augment this book, including spreadsheets that can be downloaded. Another plus for the working professional is the book is fast-paced and, dare I say, engrossing.