In her Pulitzer Prize winning "No Ordinary Time", Doris Kerns Goodwin quoted some interesting excerpts from Winston Estes' novel. I was intrigued to find out more and tracked down "Home Front". Unfortunately, the Goodwin's well-chosen excerpts were the only good things from Estes' novel which was a big disappointment.

*** Estes' focuses on the small town community of Bentley near Atlanta, Georgia where things move slowly and not a whole lot happens except for church gatherings and whenever trains pull into town. When WW2 comes along, you can hardly tell the difference except for the heavy-handed sermons on the merits of the war. The writing style is simplistic and very reminiscent of Reader's Digest stories, and the characters are wooden and aloof. Even the war can't provide Estes with a real plot. Spare yourself the agony of searching for this book, much less actually reading it.

sweet and enjoyable boo

Robert Winston is one of the many scientists today who reject God and yet place all their faith in the "infalibilty" of Evolution, turning it into a substitue of Faith. Evolution seems to have all the answers,yet the explanations of Scientists like Robert Winston are ceartanly not scientific, nor
logical, but preconcieved out of a ceartain notion towards life and Humanity.Even Robert Winston himself admitts he was not satified with the Book and I cant help but agree.

He give us confusing Lamarckan explanations how the Brain might have evolved,yet reminding us that Lamarck has long been discredited( that doesnt stop the Doctor from using the same arguements), but many time time apologizes for the lack of scientific ceartanty,citing a few ambigious scientifc experiments as his only evidence.

The Professor can obviously not explain how all these supposed mutations might have occured after another and at the nessecary time scale, especially beneficiary mutations, and begins elaborating at how a stimulie in the Enviorment led to those changes and led the Humaoid to a more advantaged trait. He is stepping in the same trap that Evolutionist have stepped in since the Time of Darwin( many intentionally), stating that mutations are random and that traits are not influenced by the enviroment, and yet createing elaburous fairy tales of social life, bigger penises, and the "social tendeny "of Intifacide which became neccesary due to Natural selection.
How on Earth these tendencies and traits became genetically inborn and passed on even the Doctor does not try to explain serioulsy, especially when considered that traits are not formed due to neccesity in Nature.

But the worst of his so called "scientific" book are the dangerous Ideas he tries to present us with, stating that they are part of Human Nature. Rape, intifacide, social disruptive behaviour,murder and lies are all names on the Doctors lists. He
vaquely states that these were once socially beneficient long ago, yet today are Humans can cooperate without these traits.All we can state is that the Dark Ghost of Social Darwinism lingers on. It is one thing to believe in evil, it is quiet another thing to give it scientific names. The history of Communism and Nazsicm can testify to that.

The more we read the Doctors Book the more we feel that we are looking into one mans Mind, feeling his wish to project his views on the world in a scientific guise,and yet his views are highly speculative and dangerous, if being taken serious.
It is a scientifically dubious Book and I recommend you for Heavens sake not to take this serious and to question Evolution as that which is alway was, make believe for the faithfull believer.

This book has been one of the most interesting readings I have had. It covers quite adequately all the basis of the new field of evolutionary psychology. While most people take human instincts for granted, studying the origins of these subconscious emotions enables us to understand behavior and psychology of homo sapiens better, and to appreciate precious human lives on earth that much more. It complements Richard Dawkins' book "The Selfish Gene" and fills in some of its holes, with some more up-to-date examples, including the dreaded Al-Quada. Nevertheless, it is not as mathematical, and it allows for easier reading for both scientists and non-scientists alike.

Winston is not an atheist evolutionist as you might think. He stated quite clearly in this book that he had utmost respect for God and religions, which towards the end confused me a little bit.

This book does NOT assume the infallibility of the theory of evolution, although it does assume a very primitive knowledge of it. For those of you who consider this book still not fundamental enough, feel free to ask me any questions. I should be able to help you close the gaps. (By the way, I am not a personal friend of, nor related to, Winston nor his affiliates.)

I purchased this entry in the series because of Zach's stunningly erotic "Bike Boy," which I rate the hottest piece of erotica - written, drawn, or filmed - I've ever seen. Not simply because the story-line and action are a pell-mell erotic variation on the theme of innocence initiated, but because the artist is truly that: an artist. He knows, and has obviously studied, and mastered, anatomy and design; the action in his panels is never badly imagined or executed (or just suggested, as in so much mediocre erotica.) It's exciting, fresh, imaginative, and drawn with beauty and extraordinary concision. He isn't just drawing penises and rectums - he's depicting the way male bodies react to sex, fully and with complete abandon. Besides knowing where all the body parts go - at every moment and from whatever angle he draws and whatever position that body in - Zach knows how to make those bodies, angles, and positions the most arousing.

The rest of the stories, with the notable exceptions of a grease-monkey tale and John Blackburn's Coley story, are highly variable. But I tremble with anticipation every time I open "Bike Boy." More, Zach! And while we're at it, More Zach!

Winston Leyland's MEATMEN books each contain a widely varied mix of styles among their contributors. With 160 pages on good paper with slick covers, they're a sizeable package (to borrow a turn of phrase), although I question the choice of some of the material. Amateurish below-fanzine-level hackwork is presented side-by-side with stunning, exceptionally high-quality art, and this may turn off some potential paying customers.

Highlights of VOL.22 include: "Bike Boy" by Zack, very European-in-style art I only wish was printed in its original full color (as I discovered on a website); "Coley On The Lost Coast" by John Blackburn, one of the nicest and hottest Coley short stories to appear in MEATMEN (Blackburn has appeared in every collection from #13-up, often contributing the best work in each book); cartoons by Gerard Donelan (cute and funny, another "regular" in this series); and "Straight Man's Burden" by Kurt Erichsen (very entertaining with a cartoon style reminiscent of Phil Foglio's).

I've been buying the MEATMEN books mostly to have a complete run of "Coley" stories. While I've enjoyed quite a few of the other features, if I had my druthers I'd enjoy seeing somebody collect all of Blackburn's short stories in a single volume (color optional!). But until then, these are the only place to read them.

Gerald Donelan has 15 cartoons this Volume, including both color covers! Other highlights: "Coley: Bayou Boy" by John Blackburn, in which the blonde voodoo boy has fun with a guy he meets in a riverfront bar (at least, until they're interrupted); "Mythology Revisited" by The Hun, wherein he experiments with fully-rendered graytone art; "Big Lay Down The Highway" by Farraday, a fun tale about truckers shot from pencilled art (I just wish this guy would take some DRAWING classes!); "A Wedding In The Family" by Kurt Erichsen, a comedy involving a guy trying to deal with a possessive mother; and "Dune Buggers" by Sean, in which a guy celebrates his birthday outdoors in the wild-- with a wild pack of friends!

If only for the subject matter (more than the quality of the art, as usual) this was one of my favorite Volumes in this series. Most (if not quite all) the contributors did stories with a sci-fi angle-- robots, time-travel, space ships, you name it.

Highlights: In Stephen Lowthar's "Out Of The Blue", a suburbanite finds & falls for the pilot of a crashed UFO-- the art here is among the closest to "mainstream" comics I've ever seen in MEATMEN. "Cryogenics" by Farraday, a very good-natured tale about a man awoken in an all-gay future, which I enjoyed despite terribly amateurish art. "Dimension X" by John Blackburn finds his blonde hero Coley transported by scientists to another world whose royal ruler is in dire need; one of my favorite Coley short stories, and one of the HOTTEST! "The Nine Billion Names Of Penis" by Kurt Erichsen is an amusing encounter involving aliens on a quest for books of knowledge. "Rocket Riders: Planet Of The Blondes" by Greg Garcia & "Space Adventures Of Nick & Seth" by Joven provide more fun space antics with traditional (if not overly outstanding) art. Cartoonist Gerald Donelan, always a joy, provides 9 cartoons this time, including front & back color covers. Also in this volume are 3 chapters of Jeffrey A. Krell's "Jayson", a humorous TV sitcom-like strip. These are lots of fun-- they just seem very out-of-place in an otherwise "sci-fi" issue! (The rest I could do without-- but that's nothing new.)

I don't like for a biography to lie, but I think it should portray the subject in a favorable or atleast interesting light. This biography is frustrating because it makes Churchill, who I thought was a very inspiring figure, into a rich spoiled man who stumbles into situations which brought him fame. If he was really as uninspired and unfocused as this biography portrays him then he has a false public reputation.

This is a brief, accurate, excellent summary of the life of Churchill. It's about 100 pages long; you can read it in an evening and still have time to catch the late news. The first duty of a biographer, said Lytton Strachey, is a "becoming brevity" (he was reacting to the huge, ponderous biographies of the Victorian era), and this work fills the bill. I had always wanted to learn more about Churchill, the greatest figure of the 20th century, but I put it off because I didn't have the time or desire to wade through a massive tome. Now, finally, I know how how he arrived at the Prime Ministership at exactly the right time. I know about his incredibly broad training for the leadership position. I know some new things about the Second World War. And so on. This book is part of the "Pocket Biographies" series published by Sutton located in England. I'm sold on the concept; I'm going to buy more in the collection - Lincoln is next and then Beethoven - i.e., people I want to know more about but not necessarily every single time they had toast for breakfast. One of the offbeat things I like about this volume is the quality of paper used for the cover - it's that creamy thick stuff that a lot of smart publishers are using these days.

Anne Marie Winston turns tragedy into a budding romance that withstands the trials and tribulations of parenthood. Most couples need to prepare for the big descision to have a baby, but Jack Ferris must become an instant father. His orphaned niece brings him more joy than he could ever have imagined once he gets over his fear of the awesome responsibility of raising a child. Romance is his ultimate reward.

The "Basic" information about blues guitar is good for what you pay. But don't expect a whole lot - because of the price.

Attention alpha male fans! If you love a gorgeous, arrogant hero who gets his comeuppance but good from a fiesty, misunderstood heroine, this one's for you. Although there's nothing new in the plotline, Ms. Winston creates strong tension between her characters and keeps it up to the very end of the book. Sexy and fast-paced. Shades of Diana Palmer and Linda Howard.

This book by Winstonm doesn't as much state opinions as facts, he uses only good sources and the writings of Charlemagne's biogapher Reinhard to bring the realty of this great man to life.

I bought the book in order to learn faster about the following: (a) How can (should) I use existing CIM schemas in order to develop CIM schema for my company devices. (b) How to represent all these concepts in XML (c) Relation of CIM to network management and DEN.

I expected to find some examples how all that look and work in real life. This, however, is not a book that I needed. It gives you some background in OO modeling that I did not like and actually did not need at all. I also suspect that somebody without previous OO knowledge might be confused. For example, on page 41, Properties, it is written: "A property is a value used to denote a characteristic of a class; it can be thought of as a pair of functions, one to set the property value and one to return the property value." Property access methods are confused with a property itself !

XML part is very short and general so I still have to go somewhere else to figure out how to implement XML part. Almost the same can be said about DEN - CIM relation.

The authors are obviously knowledgeable in the areas of OOA/OOD, Patterns and Enterprise management. I do not like their presentation but it may happen that I am not a part of their 'target group' for which they wrote the book. That is why I gave the book 3 stars. As far as I am concerned, I have to go to DMTF web site to learn hard way from documents. This book did not help me to do my job more efficiently.