I read a review of this book in the Detroit Free Press and in the New York Times. It is just as good as both reviews claim. Full of wit and poignant moments -- I'd recommend it to all.

The stories in this collection are moving, extremley funny. It's a great holiday gift.

Sharon Dilworth's "Women Drinking Benedictine" is one of the wittiest, most original story collections I have read in years. In landscapes ranging from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan to Miami, Florida, Dilworth's characters are often deeply baffled by their own lives. In "Figures on the Shore," a story that is hilarious in its middle and deeply mysterious in the end, a woman, Janeene, opens her door to men in orange Day-Glo jackets one night; they've had car trouble and need to use the phone. These men, revealed as father and son, argue in front of Janeene, who quietly enjoys their banter as relief from the silence of the northern Michigan landscape. Dilworth lets these men go on with their verbal sparring until eventually they are on the floor, punching and wrestling. Janeene simply watches this without judgement, and the comedy is almost emblematic of "scenes" we all endure in our lives when strangers puncture our privacy without hesitation or self-consciousness. Readers will laugh here at Dilworth's brilliant understatement, achieved because, like so many of her characters, Janeene's perceptions have a matter-of-fact quality that suggest she's ready for anything. Almost all of these characters dread boredom more than the bizarre. Certainly this is true of the title story, "Women Drinking Benedictine," where readers will enjoy an intricately shaped story that reads like a strange mystery, with twists and turns that eventually cast cold light on the speaker of the story. In the sub-plot of this story, the world magazine models infiltrate this remote winter landscape. A resident alcoholic character in the story who witnesses these models (who come into the bar for Benedictine) seems to feel they are angels from another world. After they disappear from the bar, all he needs to do is find them. Dilworth gets you to feel the out-back quality of this place that sees itself only in the shadow of a pop-culture that has no regard for its existence. In this, as in every story, you can't help laughing at what's always a dark comedy bordering on the tragic. In the beautiful story "Awaken With My Mother's Dreams," Dilworth reveals a mother who is both a recent widow and a passionate Detroit Pistons fan. She's bored without her husband, and does not take much comfort in the traditional role expected of women at this age: she's tired of remembering, and grandchildren don't fill this void. It's a delight to hear mother and daughter talking about the mother's outrageous dream to play men's basketball. "You'd be awfully short," says the daughter. But the mother knows her stuff, knows that not all the players are that tall, and "Spud Webb's only 5'6." And the "shortest player in the NBA is only 5'3". Tyrone Mugsy Bogues." Dilworth reveals the affection and protectiveness the daughter feels without sentimentality. And the mother, dreamer that she is, is also firmly rooted on earth, a realist who knows she'll never dribble down the court, and so seeks adventure in a kayak. Th ending of this story is so perfect you'll come away in awe of Dilworth's mastery of form, while you'll remember this narrator for her insight and humor. Of her sister she says, "Prone to exaggeration, sometimes outright lying, Nina is the kind of person who goes around telling people that her whole life changed when John Lennon died." There's not one bad story here, but everyone should make sure to check out "Three Fat Women of (Pittsburgh Just Visiting) Antibes"--a celebration of women, friendship and food, and "Me and Danno Booking 'Em Good," one of the most marvelously unreflective, hilarious narrators you will ever encounter. This book is for people who like their sense of humor engaged and who enjoy fresh characters and finely crafted stories.

I loved reading this wonderful book! It is filled with a variety of exciting, touching, inspiring, and funny stories, including those of some people you may recognize (especially if you're a Texan), such as Roger Staubech and Neil Sperry. The book is very entertaining, and full of wonderful advice for married couples. I plan to buy it for everyone I know who is getting married.

Texas Twosomes is a collection of stories about couples who have been married for 25 to 75 years. Sharing their hardships and lending advice, they sometimes enlighten and always entertain. Some names you may recognize and some you won't, but all the stories are worth reading.

Action Learning is one of the most powerful and most misunderstood developmental tools available to learning professionals today. I feel qualified to say this after reading dozens and dozens of articles and books for the purpose of completing my dissertation on Action Learning. Robert Dilworth and Verna Willis have written a book that shines like a lighthouse through the fog of literature on this elusive subject and I am personally very grateful for their contribution.

Mark Van Schuyver

Managing Director
Diverse Solutions International
dsintl.com

This book, which features past columns from award-winning columnist Billy Dilworth, is a must read for those who enjoy Southern writing legends such as Lewis Grizzard, Celestine Sibley and Furman Bisher. Dilworth, who was a newspaper columnist for four decades in Georgia and South Carolina, has put together some of most memorable writing which can be read more than once. "Before the Pen Runs Dry" is highly recommended.

David Dilworth presents the reader with a great compilation of short stories of, arguably, Japan's best author. Each story is masterly crafted with meticulous attention paid to historical detail, and each story is well prefaced, explaining Ogai's philosophic and aesthetic intentions. Either Dilworth or a collegue has made first rate translations in this edition. I would reccomend this book to both the scholar of Japanese literature and those who have only a nodding acquaintance with Ogai.

A some times daunting area of business where taking a systematic approach is often difficult.

Too often authors of this area segregate the subject of operations management to only one area of business leaving business professionals confused, wondering what relevance it has to their area of business. Dilworth takes the reader through the fundamental aspects of operations management in a flexible way that can be applied to almost any industry. Of particular interest is the area of supply chain management where Dilworth has taken a modern and inovative approach to an important area of the value chain often ignored. Dilworth has really out done himself. Well done Dilworth.

The subtitle to this book caught my interest. It's a collection of stories, letters, poems, and songs by people learning, growing, questing. It is like being friends with these people and reading their intimate letters to you about what's going on in their lives, their struggles, their sexuality, how they deal with relationships, marriage, having a baby, death, career. The book is self-published and only 5,000 copies were printed in July 1974 and it's 174 pages. I imagine if you were coming into adulthood in the sixties that this book would really take you back. I enjoyed it.

I think that Candide, by Voltaire is a must-read. It mocks the traditonal views of optimism and takes on a almost, humorous approach to telling that story. It also teaches a lesson of contentment and it shows how Candide experienced the contentment of El Dorado and the sybolism of El Dorado to God's kingdom.

I used this review manual in addition to a few others to prepare for the Fundamentals of Engineering Exam. Throughout the course of my studying, I found I used this one almost exclusively. It covers a large spectrum of most of the topics found on the General Section of the FE exam. The reviews are detailed enough to obtain an understanding of the topic without drowning you with too much information. I had been out of grad school for 8 years when I took the FE exam, and there were some subjects on the General Exam that I never had at the college level. However, this book obviously prepared me enough to pass the FE exam on the first attempt. I would strongly recommend using this review manual as the core of your exam preparation.

I found two or three mistakes, but overall it provides an efficient way to review and practice the subjects covered on the FE exam. I highly recommend this book.

Don't waste your time with Lindeburg, this book will get you through the test. The book could have been a little more thorough on a few subjects, but I passed by studying exclusively from this book - and that was my goal. Do as many timed practice exams as possible, get to know the reference manual inside and out.

Lindeburg's texts are about relearning the fundamentals, Potter's text is the level of review you need to pass the exam.

In the fourth installment of the Leatherstocking Tales, Cooper introduces a nautical theme upon the surface and along the shores of Lake Ontario. The Pathfinder is ultimately a love story tinged with the conspiracy of treason, though it takes no extra-sensory perception to uncover the traitor long before he is exposed in the book. Cap, a grizzled saltwater veteran, accompanies his niece to visit her father stationed at the British outpost of Fort Oswego, NY. Once there, the two become embroiled in the confrontation between England, France, and their Native American allies for control of the lake. Cap is dismissive of landlubbers and "freshwater ponds", such as he describes Ontario, setting the stage for his mind to be turned by the derring-do of inland waterman, Jasper Western. Indeed, Cap is so outspoken in his contempt for the ways of his new found associates, that he becomes somewhat of an annoyance to the reader. Cooper chose to give the character little in the way of redeeming qualities nearly spoiling the pleasure one takes in Cap's ultimate and grudging respect for the wilderness and the men who master it. Such a thoroughly boorish character simply creates no emotional connection. But, Cap isn't guilty of treason. You'll spot the traitor shortly after he appears.

The Pathfinder is formulaic, utterly predictable, and, at times, almost childlike in substance, but throughout, as in all other Leatherstocking Tales, radiates the simple goodness, manly deportment, and rustic charm of Nathaniel Bumppo. Indeed, Bumppo as a character is so masterfully wrought that Cooper could place him in a melon patch for the duration of a book and still manage to eke out a classic. Having previously read The Pioneers, The Last of the Mohicans, and The Prairie, I find The Pathfinder the weaker of the four, but fourth in favor in this wonderful series of stories isn't any black mark. Indeed, it qualifies The Pathfinder as yet another loveable yarn from the pen of James Fenimore Cooper. 4+ stars.

In this, the third Leatherstocking tale chronologically (after Deerslayer and Last of the Mohicans), James Fenimore Cooper takes us, once again, to his vision of pure, unadultered, nature. Once again he weaves a tale around his ideas of morality, race, and religion. This time around Leatherstocking (known here as Pathfinder) is the pursuer of love, whereas before (in Deerslayer) he was the pursued.

These three books are the only ones that I have read to this point, and it is true that both this and the Deerslayer are more of romances than the Last of the Mohicans, which is an adventure.
Alot of people give the other books in the series flack because they are expecting the same as what they read in Last of the Mohicans. However, if you begin reading the book without those preconcived notions leading to disappointment, I think you will find that the other books are equally entertaining

All three are great books and I highly recommend them all.

I originally wanted to read the Last of the Mohicans because of the very enjoyable movie but I picked up this book and chose to read it first. I do not regret my decision. I was unaware when I began reading this book in the Leatherstocking series that it was not the first book in the series. A reader who has not read other books in the series can feel confident that they won't feel lost if they start reading this book. The book portrays very detailed images of the forests, lakes, rivers, and people of the French and Indian War time period during the 18th century. The character development and plot are very well done. The book also gives a glimpse of the harsh realities of war during this time period. The writing style of the book is also fascinating and reminds me, at times, of epic poetry. I highly recommend it.