On the surface, the book sounds interesting. The descriptions of the charcters are intriguing. Unfortunately, the plot is rather awkward and silly. The dialog is occasionally witty, but mostly awful. The dialect of the black characters is just plain offensive. Here is proof of how hard it is to write a good book, given an interesting premise.

I was extremely disappointed in this book. It was more like a gothic than a standard mystery. I found Hillary -- who, I assume, is supposed to be a sort of send-up of Martha Stewart -- bizarre with her decorating tips at the oddest moments. She wasn't the least bit realistic. And, as a native Southerner, I was expecting more development of that angle, which didn't happen (at least, not in any good way). But I think my unhappiness may be because I missed the character development earlier in the series. I imagine I should have started with the first book.

death day party BY Paula Carter/ paperback Mystery Series/
Jane Fergusan is and ex-law student with a falir for everything but cooking and designing, her employer is Hillary Scarborough who can cvook but her strong suit is giving ordes and expecting them to come out even through rose colored designer glasses Hillary manages her share of trouble and while she does have good intentions it's usually Jane who has to put what little use of the law she knows she skirt around all the danger that Hillary seems to stumble on.
Local psychic Cassandra Bean has hired Hillary and Jane to cater the banquet of hrer great Aunt too bad the Aunt is dead but money is money so they decide to do it. Upon their arrival there is a glitch Cassandra is dead for what seems to be a heart attack....
However the other members if the family inssit thsi is no botehr and to they'll hae the party anyway. Then when Uncle Bruce turns up dead the heat is on the find the murderer to cold stiff and when a flash flood leaves everyone stranded Hillary and jane decide to cook thier way through diaster and snoop their way to solving this all too well done crime.
DEAHTDAY PARTY is eccentric and wonerful you'll love these two women with your whole heart. They know how to solve crime if they know little else. This is a who dunnit that has heart, wit charm and grace. it woul be a crime not to read this series let alone this book
Pamela James-reviewer.

Lin Carter, Tolkien: A Look Behind the Lord of the Rings (Ballantine, 1969)
availability: out of print

Forget the title. Carter's book has about as much to do with Lord of the Rings as Silence of the Lambs actually has to do with lambs. They get mentioned now and again, but are really quite unnecessary to what's going on.

Carter's interesting little tome is actually more of an encapsulated history of fantasy literature up to the time of Tolkien-- the sources from which Tolkien got his ideas. LOTR serves as a convenient linchpin and a good jumping-off point, but Carter is truly in his own when he's discussing the Elder Edda or the epics of Homer and his contemporaries, and tracing how the stories got from the ancient texts into Tolkien's hands. It leaves behind a wealth of wonderful reading material for the interested fantasy reader to track down (assuming most of it can be found; Carter laments that many of the works of which he speaks have been lost to the ages), and this is its chief strength. As for weaknesses... well, there really aren't any. Carter spends too much time summing up LOTR when he could be telling us about Egyptian legends, and he makes a number of guesses about things in LOTR, since The Silmarillion hadn't been published yet (and for all its annoyances, The Silmarillion did answer a whole lot of questions about the First Age), but it's impossible to count that against Carter and still remain fair. I'd just liked to have seen more of the old stuff, and less of the new. ***

This book is a fascinating inquiry into the process of making of the greatest fantasy epic of our time. Along with the analyses of Middle Earth's different trends you will find a wealth of fantasy lore about other authors of the time and their works. This is an enchanting book that will make you see fantasy in a completely different light.

It may be difficult to diggest if your are not into Tolkien, and more specifically, if you are not a die-hard fan of The Lord of the Rings. But if you are a fan, not only you will find this book very informative, but you will devour it from cover to cover!

this is basically a picturebook with scenes from the movie - you won't see any pictures you didn't see in the movie. a short paragraph is included for each page, which reads like a book you would read to a 4 yr old at bedtime. the 2 stars are for 1) the photos, and 2) the low price

I bought the book and I gave it the 3 stars because every page has photos from the movie and for its budget price. The story is narrated so that a young child can read it too. More a collectors piece than for a good read!

I ordered this when I saw it, and I think it's a really great book. Really great pictures, I have two copies. It's also a really good price. I love it, Fight the Future is the best.

I'm a fan of Conan, and unlike some others, I don't object fanatically to L. Sprague de Camp and Lin Carter's efforts to complete Howard's unfinished stories and outlines, and to expand the Conan stories into a twelve volume series...at least in principle. The De Camp and Carter stories written in posthumous collaboration with Howard are fine, in fact, but you must be wary of the full-length novels in the series that are not at least partially credited to Howard. There are three: Volume 6 (this one), Volume 11 (Conan of Aquilonia), and volume 12 (Conan of the Isles). While volume 12 is a passable read, the other two are dreadful pastiches, the worst volumes in the series.

The story is about Conan donning pirate gear once again to hunt his old nemesis, but it's an episodic story--just a series of events poorly strung together. Conan is not a particularly profound character, and De Camp and Carter simply lack Howard's ability to make him interesting despite his basic shallowness. Without the contributions of Howard's fantastic vision, their efforts wear thin in a full-length book. Conan the Buccaneer doesn't cohere as a novel, and nothing in it stirs the imagination. You won't miss anything by skipping it, particularly since biographical summaries that appear at the start of each story in the series tell you what you need to know to continue. The next couple volumes are possibly the best in the series (Conan the Warrior, Conan the Usurper), in fact, so don't waste time in getting to them by reading this one.

Carter and de Camp do a good job of capturing the Robert Howard "feel" of the tale while making it a full length story. There's plenty of action and (as Carter says in the introduction)impossibly beautiful women. Fans of Conan comics will be happy to see the Cimmerian's Kushite comrade-at-arms Juma playing a part in this adventure.

The story takes place on the high seas and sweltering southern jungles, so it makes for a great read during the hot summer months - or maybe a good escape from a snowy winter weekend. The only complaint I have is the man eating tree they have Conan face off against. This is kinda lame, but I was having so much fun with this story that I really didn't mind. This book is worth reading if you can track it down.

Say what you will against a pastiche, but I like Conan novels. Howards will always be the best, but it is great to see his characters continue on.

de Camp and Carter have kept this Conan story nicely in the lifeline (actually tying it in to fill a gap in his history). While some parts of the story lost my interest, there were quite a few great scenes in the novel that made me forget that I wasn't actually reading a Howard novel.

If you are interested in reading past Howard's Conan stories, this is a good one in the pack.

Although Morris writes and interesting biography, the strength of the book is when he's telling Carter's story and the environment in which Carter acts. I found the psychoanalysis less compelling. I would have preferred if the author drew his conculsions in the text and relegated his descriptions of the school of sociological thought that a particular Carter behavior might have fit to the endnotes. Sociology too often interferes with a good story that Morris generally tells well, especially Carter's childhood. I wish the book had a more detailed account of Carter's Presidency. What's there is good, but more is needed. I thought the author offered many interesting political insights, but found his comparison of the economic record of Carter and his neighboring Presidents very poor. The economic analysis relies too heavily on comparing 4-year averages of certain indicators rather than describing what the trends were, what the causes were, and how well Carter acted to address the trends.

"Jimmy Carter - American moralist" is an excellently researched and well written biography of the 39th American president. It provides us with a fine introduction to the ex-president's private and public life. The book is very detailed in exploring Carter's childhood and early political career. Although I found that part interesting to read, I wish it had been as detailed on the account of his presidency. As a born-again Christian there is no doubt that morality played (and still plays) a major role both in Carter's private as well as public life. Unfortunately, strong moral and ethics is not enough to make a good leader and president (I think Bill Clinton is the best example on that...)

President Carter endured the lowest poll ratings ever to be recorded. And after leaving office he spent years as America's favorite guy to pick on. He dedicated himself to volunteer work, especially working with the organization "Habitat for Humanity". More than a decade would pass before he again, in the mid-90'ies, would enjoy life in the public limelight. In 1994 Atlanta Georgia, he got his (long overdue) tribute in bronze, his public ratings was again soaring, and he received invitations to join peace negotiating teams etc.

"Jimmy Carter - American moralist" (together with Powell's "My American Journey") was my introduction to reading about American politics and history. In this book, the author strikes a perfect balance between political jargon, facts and figures. And the result is a biography easy to read, even for lay readers like me. I learned a lot from reading this book, and it inspired me to continue to explore the field further.

An interesting biography!

Jimmy Who? That was the question many American asked themselves during the 1976 presidential campaign. Who was this obscure southern governor positioning himself into the highest office in the land? Twenty-five years later, many Americans find themselves asking this exact same question despite a presidential term and a prominent life in volunteer work. While a full understanding of Jimmy Carter is impossible, Mr. Morris provides a fine introduction to his life. The author puts a strong emphasis on the role morality played both in Carter's private life and public image. The book is especially strong in exploring Carter's childhood and early political career - a topic that is neglected in every other Carter book. Less emphasis is placed on Carter's presidential term. Major incidents that shaped the late 1970s receive only a few pages each. What are we to make of Jimmy Carter's presidency? Even though the Southern Baptist may have been the most ethical and decent man to occupy the White House this century, the record is wanting, at best, miserable at worst. This is because Carter lacked any core vision of where he wanted to take his country. He never explained to voters or to himself the direction he wanted to take us. Further, in cases where Carter was more assertive, like energy policy, he was inexperienced in how Washington politics worked. He stumbled badly in his Congressional relations and he never constructed a loyal constituency out of the American public. There were some positives, such as the Egypt-Israel peace accords and legislation deregulating the airline and trucking industries. The Iran Hostage affair was a perplexing situation that would have frustrated any leader. But on economics and Cold War relations, the most important issues of Carter's term, his administration was especially inept. Even though Carter had private misgivings about Keynesianism, he couldn't bring himself to repudiate the tenets of social liberalism. Government spending surged under Carter's term. Inflation proved resistant to his wage and price contols. Under Carter's foreign policy team, detente continued to be a one-way street working to Moscow's advantage. It took a man with a far different perspective of the world, Ronald Regan, to reverse Carter's shortcomings. It is unfair to label Jimmy Carter a failure. Only the harshest critic can label a man who rose to the highest office in the land - and served with honesty and integrity- as a "failure." But Carter's presidency was constrained by a lack of vision, competence, and a failed ideology. The responsibility for this situation lies solely with this farmer's son from Plains.

Relying heavily on the cute cover and editorial review, we bought this book for our preschool children. We hate to belittle the efforts of creative people, especially children's authors. Although See You Soon... has some nice ideas, it does not go anywhere and does not say anything new. Rather than being "rife with pleasant repetition", the book is rife with clichés and rip off. As beautifully as the wording of Margaret Wise Brown's classic Goodnight Moon lulls children to sleep, this book under delivers and jars the imagination. Some people may enjoy the blueberry skies and the see ya laters, our family wishes we looked before we pressed 'Add to Cart.'

Wonderful pictures depict a nighttime ride to grandma's house for a little boy. Some lovely words: "blueberry sky", "swings with your long strings up to the sky", "my blanket as soft as a kitten on my lap," "the moon plays peekaboo." Every page shows something a child would see on a trip from the country to the city. The art matches the words perfectly. My son loves looking for the moon on each page. However, the poetry doesn't flow off the tongue easily, even though there are some wonderful poetic moments. A near-great book for bedtime.

A lovely little children's book, full of magical description and fanciful drawing. Innocence and discovery with a cleverly precocious attitude. Little one's in daycare or at bedtime will love it. See you soon... moon!

I recognize that there is a certain amount of hubris in complaining about a book that remains "in print" 1800 years after it was written. So let me begin by declaring that the two star rating is meant to solely be a reflection of how little *I* *enjoyed* the book; I'll leave reviews of Dio's historiographical and literary qualities to those more qualified.

For those who, like me, read Roman history more for enjoyment than any academic interest, Dio's history of Augustus is painfully dry. Missing is the eloquence of Livy, the scandals of Tacitus, the drama of Plutarch. What is left is a bare recitation of facts: so and so was made consul; Augustus increased this department to thirteen people instead of ten; Augustus went on a trip. And every few books there is a long speech that does little to further the history (the sole exception is Augustus' speech to the Senate early in his reign saying he wishes to retire; as Dio tells it, it was less "I'm tired and want to rest" than "I can do whatever the heck I want, I hold total supreme power, but I am such a magnanimous person that rather than treat you all like the slaves you are, I'm going to retire"). Even the famous "debate" between Agrippa and Maecenas over whether Octavian should assume sole power falls flat. The only truly enjoyable moments are the opening chapter featuring Antony and Cleopatra and Dio's description of the massacre of Varo's legions in Germany. Beyond that, those who want an enjoyable read about Augustus' reign are better off reading Robert Graves "I, Claudius." True, it's fiction, but you get the same information you get from Dio with a lot more fun!

Compared to well-written ancient histories by Tacitus, Suetonius or Ammianus Marcellinus, Cassius Dio's history of the reign of Augustus is a great disappointment. Cassius Dio was a Greek (c. 163-235 AD) who served in the Roman Empire as a senator, consul and provincial governor and who then turned to write a history of the first emperor in the later years of his life, about 214-226 AD. Although Dio was well educated and familiar with the methods of ancient historians, his approach is far less methodical and tends to focus on what would now be called "urban legends." Throughout these pages, there is a seemingly endless recounting of strange incidents and oddities involving sea monsters, odd sounds, weird apparitions, statues frowning or bleeding, tigers, swarms of ants or bees, flames, wolves, comets, owls and even crows dropping "flaming fragments of meat." At times the reader will be embarrassed for Cassius Dio and wish that some of these pages had been lost to posterity. While there is no doubt that Dio does offer a full account of sorts of the reign of Augustus, there is little information that is not better presented by Suetonius or Tacitus.

The history consists of seven books (chapters), numbered 50-56, that cover the period 32 BC to 14 AD. While there are some missing parts, these are not very significant. The Penguin edition begins with a 29 page introduction that is interesting and informative. There are a series of maps that cover most of the empire in this period but as usual, Penguin omits to cover the crucial area of the Balkans. Much of the campaigns of Tiberius, Drusus and Germanicus occurred in Dacia and Moesia, and these areas are not depicted on any of the maps, whereas areas not even mentioned by Dio are depicted. The history begins with two books covering the confrontation between Mark Antony and Octavian. While interesting, the account is very superficial and the decisive Battle of Actium is glossed over with little detail.

Book 52, which covers the infamous "debate" between Agrippa and Maecenas about the virtues of monarchy and democracy, is a 37-page historical wasteland. Aside from the obvious fact that the author inserted this fictional dialogue to expound his own theories of government, much of the dialogue is inconsistent with the characters and of no practical historical value anyway. Dio only discusses a theoretical government, not the actual government of Augustus, so the value of this is nil. Note to reader: skip book 52.

Dio gets back on track with the historical narrative in Book 53 and does discuss interesting aspects of the development of the principate in the early years. For example, to maintain the pretense of senatorial rule, Augustus allowed the senate to administer the interior provinces of the empire while he governed the frontier provinces. However since the Roman army was only deployed in the frontier provinces, Augustus effectively controlled all the military resources in the empire (including his Praetorian Guard). Dio also mentions the Roman expedition down the Red Sea in 24 BC, which reached as far as modern-day Yemen. There is also considerable detail on the Imperial family in the last half of the book, which fans of "I Claudius" will find interesting, and readers will note how Robert Graves used rumors of imperial plots and conspiracies mentioned by Dio to weave his tale.

The last two books, 55 and 56, are the most interesting from the point of view of the military historian. Although Dio rarely goes into great detail, he does discuss the campaigns of Tiberius, Drusus and Germanicus at some length. On pages 213-215, Dio provides an order of battle for the legions, the origin of each legion and a discussion of the military budget. It is interesting that initially Augustus paid military pensions out of his own funds and then reverted to a 5% death inheritance tax to supplement the military budget; it is apparent from Dio that the Roman army in Augustus' time was maintained on a financial shoestring. The Battle of Teutobergerwald is also discussed and it is apparent that the Romans were lulled into a false sense of security by conspiring German tribes and committed the mistake of making an essentially administrative road march (complete with camp followers) through hostile territory. After this catastrophe, Augustus was hard-pressed to scrape up replacements and was forced to conscript freedmen by lots and execute malingerers. Clearly, the Roman Empire had no reserve military capacity - it was all in the window.

Finally, Dio concludes that the main contribution of Augustus was the length of his 44-year reign, which provided vital stability to Rome. By the time that Augustus died, Romans had grown accustomed to monarchy and did not yearn for an unfamiliar Republic (which brought back distant memories of civil war). Rome was also fortunate that the personality and character of Augustus was not egomaniacal, as so many of his successors would prove. Augustus listened to his advisors, was more inclined to persuade than dictate, and usually kept his supreme powers in reasonable check. Augustus gave Rome four decades of sound management and he laid the basic design that endured for four more centuries, despite many threats to stability. As for Dio's history, it is of interest to the specialist in Roman history, but the tendency to relate rumors and gossip at the expense of fact is a major weakness.

Dio's Roman History:the reign of Augustus, is an essential read in the range of Roman history texts which cover this important era in Roman history when the Republic came to an end and the Empire started.

Dio stands in strong contrast to Tacitus writing of the same period in that Dio isn't anywhere near as entertaining and appears far more pragmatic although as other reviewers have noted the style is one of history as a consequence of the fitness of the rulers to rule. As such there is nothing wrong with this, it must be remembered that at the time Dio lived the Empire was in dire straits after the succession of Severus to be followed by a virtual plague of civil wars and barbarian attacks which were overcome with difficulty and it stands as a testimony to the rulers during this period that the Empire survived. This then is the viewpoint from which Dio writes. He doesn't let Augustus appear too much of a demi-god but also brings out his weaknesses and does not just praise him but rather explains how he was able to reign so well with the help of extremely able men such as Agrippa and Maecenas and the leadership of Drusus.

Unfortunately the book is interspersed with numerous "created" speeches which don't ring true, rather different from Tacitus where they certainly sound more genuine. Also it covers far better the events in the capital than in the provinces and more detail as regards the campaigns in Germany would have been illuminating.

Nonethelss a good book, well worth it for a study of the style of Roman scholarship of the time.

This book is a huge disappointment. About 80% of the content is simply a reprinting of company logos and art work. There is little text and what there is can only be described as "superficial." If you are interested in how to brand, what makes branding work, and other pragmatics of the approach, this is not the book to read.

As a designer, it was nice to see someone finally taking a visual approach to the topic of branding. There are a lot of books out on the market that deal with the strategic end of branding with prose, but this was the first I found that dealt with the issue in a visual way.

Book captures the idea that branding also has a visual component- most books only cover branding through text and ignore the visual aspect. Great reference for graphic designers and those in the design field.

I purchased this book hoping to sit down and read an exciting narrative on the ATF and the early days of the agency. Boy was I mistaken. This is an extremely boring book. If you've heard one moonshine story, you've heard a million. Weems recycles the same story over and over for the reader. Very disappointing book.

Written in the style of a Jack Webb narration on Dragnet, Former ATF Agent Weems spins a tale of greed attracting farmers into an intricate web of crime in the mountains of North Georgia. Often chasing elusive moonshiners through multiple chapters, its gritty realism and Weems expertise add to the pace of the book. By the end of the book, you're cheering for the good guys and booing the bad. A word of caution--pay attention in the early chapters when Weems describes the typical moonshine operation. It will make reading the rest of the book a lot easier.

This book keeps you interested. You hate to lay it down, even to go get a cup of coffee. It's as true to life as life can be. You get the feel for the excitement of the Law and for the Outlaw. If you weren't one of these people,i'm sure you probably knew one or one was kin folk. I have recomended this book to List Members. I plan to read the book again. Would love to talk with the Charlie. Thanks Charlie

it is unfortunate ms. dabbs did not list patty mccormick as the author of "pieces of an american quilt" when she listed the book as a reference source in the back of her book.

Good photos & how-to. A detailed pattern for the crazy quilt in the movie "How to Make an American Quilt" is included. The text reads rather like a museum catalogue. There's also a fan quilt that was inherited by the author, but it isn't a crazy quilt so its inclusion here as a feature quilt is inappropriate. Like another reviewer I think Patty McCormick should have been acknowledged.

The author's own quilts are such an inspiration, and her detailed explanations of matters such as signature transfer and working with unusual motifs -- all of that make this my favorite of the available books. And I have them all.